Sam Messenger

Untitled (Study of an Icon)

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Year 2020
Medium Ink and graphite on paper
Dimensions 30.1 x 21.1 cm

About the work

This is a working drawing for an icon.

About the artist:

Born 1980 London, Sam Messenger lives and works in London. Graduated from Camberwell College of Art (2003); and Royal College of Art (2005). 

Messenger has become renowned not only for his ability as a draftsman, but for his execution of obsessive-compulsive concepts that unfold on the paper in boggling displays of patience and control to illustrate just how little control we really have.

His works are held in public and private collections including the Kramarsky Collection, New York; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown; Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and The British Museum, London.  

Selected solo exhibitions include Verso, Davidson Gallery, New York (2019); Sam Messenger, Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (2017); Horizon, ADAA The Art Show, New York (2017); 13 Cycles, Davidson Contemporary, New York (2016); Fracture, Davidson Contemporary, New York (2014); Early Drawings, Davidson Contemporary, New York (2014); Six Veils, Davidson Contemporary, New York (2011); and Straightedge, Davidson Contemporary, New York (2008). Selected group exhibitions include Line Into Space, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2020); Contemporary Paintings, Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (2020); Contemporary Works on Paper, Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (2019); Dot, Dash, Dissolve, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia (2016); Line: Making the Mark, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2014); Paper Jam, Neuberger Museum of Art, New York (2014); Abstract Drawing, curated by Richard Deacon, Drawing Room, London (2014); Four Decades, Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (2014); Textility, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (2012); Contemporary Watercolour, curated by Veronica Roberts, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York (2012); The Art of Collecting, Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan (2011); 40 Artists-80 Drawings, Burton Art Gallery and Museum, Devon (2011); Reflections on a Museum, Williams College Museum of Art, Massachusetts (2011); Now WHAT?, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach (2010); Contained Thoughts, The Courtauld Institute of Arts, London (2009); You Silently (Two), The Courtauld Institute of Arts, London (2008); and Blink, Cut + Repeat, The Courtauld Institute of Arts, London (2008).   

Awards include the Parallel Prize, Royal College of Art (2005). 

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