Samuel Staffan is a Russian born, American raised & Brooklyn based artist with a focus on painting, exploring themes surrounding process, nature, place, time & memory. Being raised in rural...
Samuel Staffan is a Russian born, American raised & Brooklyn based artist with a focus on painting, exploring themes surrounding process, nature, place, time & memory. Being raised in rural Northern Michigan, the work reflects the values of that landscape, with its tranquility, silence and severity. The paintings aim to capture moments of the "small gods," an idea inspired by Michigan poet & author Jim Harrison, depicting fleeting moments of illumination found in nature. Like a heavy object sinking to the bottom of a rushing stream, the dark palette creates a stillness and silence in the paintings, translating to the viewer what resonated in the artist during these moments.