Artist Samantha Schneider brings her uniquely-captivating oil paintings to the Foundation Gallery of the Mansfield Art Center, from January 21 to February 25. Root Beer Float is a dreamy trip into the simple pleasures of childhood, depicting objects that trigger instant nostalgia. The artwork takes us back to an uncomplicated time where depression, bills, and the monotonous feeling life takes on after a certain age are nonexistent. This body of work captures the vibrant and bubbly nature of young children before adolescence through vivid colors mixed with soft hues of the past.

“I remember very insignificant things that now come to me with a wave of emotion, a longing for someone I used to be. Things as simple as a distinct chlorine and laundry smell bring me back to when I was seven, wet from my neighbor’s blue inflatable pool, eating ice cream as I sit with a damp towel on the living room carpet watching Pokémon. I see Halloween decorations in the store, and I can remember the feeling of excitement, a flutter in my chest, an anticipation for a great event of one night of dressing up with friends and gathering candy. The smell of pumpkin warmed by a candle’s flame follows us throughout the neighborhood. I can’t remember conversations we had but I remember the feeling…the look…the smell. The memories blur together to create an amalgamation of true happiness. Happiness felt so easy, it came so naturally.” Samantha Schneider

A recent graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), Schneider double-majored in painting and drawing. During her time at CIA, she received the following awards: Excellence in Studio Practice, Eastman (1912)-Bolton Memorial Prize, Mary Seymour Brooks Scholarship for Painting, and Liza Noble ’48 Scholarship for Excellence in Painting. Her work is highly autobiographical, drawing on narratives of growth through trauma, learning to love the ever-changing aspects of self, and purging past experiences through cryptic modern symbolism. Schneider is her own muse, creating large-scale portraiture featuring different versions of herself as the protagonist. Bright, colorful, and dreamlike features create a juxtaposition of childlike wonder and ominous, unsettling messages.

An opening reception with the artist will be held from 5 to 7 pm on Saturday, January 20 at the Mansfield Art Center.

MANSFIELD ART CENTER
700 Marion Avenue

Mansfield, Ohio 44906

mansfieldartcenter.org

419.756.1700

EVENTS:

Samantha Schneider | Root Beer Float: The Simple Pleasures of Childhood, January 20–February 25. Opening reception 5-7pm Saturday, January 20