for the past three years, mark samsonovich has almost exclusively made art for the streets and public spaces. in the winter of 2014, he embarked on quest to create paintings of the images that he has pasted and sprayed around new york city and beyond. each composition presents its own satirical sentiment about society through playful shapes, clean, handmade lines, and moments of typography that enhance the overall message. measuring 30 inches on their largest side, the works are small in comparison to their 8 feet tall relatives that live in unexpected moments of the urban fabric.
‘sleeping through an illusion dreaming of reality ascending on a horizontal plane’, 30 in. x 12 in.
‘I used gouache for the first time, and fell in love with its
flexibility – if you add water you can achieve watercolor like effects,
and if you don’t, its very similar to acrylic. it also dries very fast
and once a mark is made, you can’t take it back. the only option is a
perfect stroke every time. unlike pasting images blocks or miles apart
in an urban environment, I’m finally seeing all my imagery in one place.
it’s nice seeing all my thoughts together as one.’ – mark samsonovich
‘open your mind’, 30 in. x 22. in.
‘when I think of love I think of you’, 30 in. x 15.5 in.
‘water the flowers’, 30 in. x 21 in.
‘having freedom is not the same as being free’, 30 in. x 22. in.
‘even the small can rise above giants’, 30 in. x 15.75 in.
‘pay me no mind’, 22.5 in. x 22.5 in.
closeup of ‘pulling masks’, 30 in. x 22 in.
‘everything is energy’, 29 in. x 8.25 in.
from designboom