Robert Sample

The protagonists in Robert’s paintings avert their gaze from the viewer, they seem forlorn and overwhelmed by the existential world, some look skyward in search of redemption and clarity. Infused with familiar signs from religious Art, the pathos of his subjects is transformed into piety. You could be forgiven for thinking this work deals with particular groups of individuals, but no, these are pictures of everyone of us stripped back to reveal our common vulnerabilities. Sample describes the images as depicting the “weightless mire” that we all endure as a key part of the human condition. They reflect back at us those times when we all feel rootless, unanchored and dissociated.

Gareth Stevens

Website www.robertsample.co.uk