Samantha Mack
Artist Statement
When I was born, my great grandmother Ida crocheted a blanket for me. When she died, she was buried with a pillow I made for her. We come full circle. Like crochet, we work in the round, following each other’s paths, eyes and hands tracing the same small, meditative motions that came before. I pick up the stitch where my great grandmother left off.
Through a process of meditative repetition, I work stitch after stitch of delicate crochet, forming it into a chain of lace, a granny square, a thousand butterflies. In my light-based works, this accumulation of detail is diffused into intricate geometric shadows that shift and dissolve, creating patterns that can only occur through a sheer veil of transparency — a boundary as thin but tangible as the border between life and death. In my paintings, this kaleidoscopic effect is flattened into vibrant layers of pattern and narrative; in my video work, it becomes an infinite loop of composition and decomposition. Through this hybridization of the generational tradition of crochet with image, electricity and motion, I establish experiential signifiers for the beauty of mortality.
There is no machine that can replicate handmade crochet. It is intertwined with the biological. It is the single most effective method for modeling hyperbolic geometry, the process by which cells replicate into ever-expanding layers, folding and curling into kelp, coral reefs, and perhaps, some speculate, the very shape of our universe. It is through this gradual process of overlapping that I come to code and recode, catching my breath only to have it taken away again.
E X P E R I E N C E
Gallery Assistant and Director of Public Relations
Arts Southeast + Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA | 2020 - Present
Curator
The Supporter Gallery at Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA | 2022 - Present
Events Editor & Production Assistant
IMPACT Arts + Culture Magazine | Published by Arts Southeast: Savannah, GA | 2022 - Present
Studio Assistant
Lisa D. Watson Studio + PlanIt Green Design (Gardens) | Savannah, GA | 2022 - Present
Jennifer Mack-Watkins Studio | Savannah, GA | 2022 - 2023
Rachel Mica Weiss Studio | Pittsburgh, PA | 2018 - 2020
Aimee Manion Studio | Cranberry, PA | 2015 - 2017
Print Department Extern
Carnegie Mellon University School of Art | Pittsburgh, PA | 2018 - 2019
Teaching Assistant and Studio Monitor
Carnegie Mellon University Pre-College Program | Pittsburgh, PA | 2018
Graphic Designer and Glass Etcher
Specialty Etching Shoppe (Formerly Etched in Glass, Inc.) | Gibsonia, PA | 2015 - 2019
E D U C A T I O N
M.F.A. in Painting
Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA | 2022
B.F.A. in Art, Minor in Professional Writing
Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | 2018
Study Abroad: Advanced Liberal Arts
CIEE and University of Barcelona | Barcelona, Spain | 2017
E X H I B I T I O N S
2022 | Converge
Duo Exhibition with Amiri Farris | Steven F. Gately Gallery, Francis Marion University | Florence, SC
2022 | Through a Kaleidoscope
M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Savannah College of Art and Design | Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2022 | Bloom
Small Group Curated Exhibition | Savannah Cultural Arts Center | Savannah, GA
2021 | IMPACT
Group Exhibition of 40 Savannah Artists | Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2021 | Fall SCAD Open Studio
Hosted virtually by Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA
2021 | Simulacra
National Juried Exhibition | Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2021 | Summer in the City
Supporter Exhibition | Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2021 | Awigami International Miniature Print Exhibition
Awigami, Inbe Art Space | Yoshinogawa City, Tokushima, Japan
2021 | Alexander Ink Print Exhibition
Alexander Hall, Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA
2021 | Spring SCAD Open Studio
Hosted virtually by Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA
2020 | Curator: In Place
Co-curated with Shaye Garrigan at Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2020 | White Elephant VI
Sulfur Studios | Savannah, GA
2020 | Fall SCAD Open Studio
Hosted Virtually by Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA
2019 | Adivine
The Loft Gallery | Savannah, GA
2019 | Fall SCAD Open Studio
Alexander Hall, Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA
2018 | Metamorphosis
Percolate Gallery | Pittsburgh, PA
2018 | Family Meeting
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts | Pittsburgh, PA
2018 | Senior Exhibition: dot.gov
Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA
2018 | Solo Exhibition: In Loving Memory
Ellis Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA
2018 | Solo Exhibition: Messy
Ellis Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA
P R E S S / R A D I O
"At Sulfur Studios, ruminate on the 'Things That Have Never Been." Megan Pusser, Savannah Morning News. April 4th, 2023. Article
"Samantha Mack: Savannah Artist and Sulfur Studios Curator." The Ten Frame Emerging Artists Podcast: Kevin Kirkwood and Kelly Thompson. March 25th, 2023. Episode
"Three Savannah artists cross the river to South Carolina with exhibitions in Charleston, Florence." Rob Hessler, Savannah Morning News. July 26th, 2022.
"Downtown Florence's Gately Gallery features one exhibit, two artists." Matthew Robertson, SCNow: The Morning News. July 19th, 2022. Article
"Samantha Mack: Through a Kaleidoscope." Art off the Air: Rob Hessler. May 9th, 2022. Episode
"Samantha Mack is taking us 'Through a Kaleidoscope' with her masters thesis at Sulfur Studios." Rob Hessler, Savannah Morning News. May 9th, 2022. Article
"Here is how ARTS Southeast plans to bring regional, local artists together in Savannah." Rob Hessler, Savannah Morning News. April 19th, 2021. Article