Tropical Bliss Painting

BIOGRAPHY – Samantha Thompson ‘There’s a comical streak… I can’t take anything too seriously’ Samantha Thompson (b. 1978) is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and regional arts advocate based in regional Victoria, Australia. With a highly successful career spanning over 20 years, Thompson is renowned for her vibrant, feminist artworks. Thompson has exhibited in numerous galleries across Australia and produced 14 solo shows since 2003. She has also exhibited internationally, and her works can be found in private and public collections across the world. Thompson was born in Sydney in 1978 to parents of US descent. She credits her experiences in the family fashion business as being instrumental to her progression as a professional artist. Her early ventures in the creative arts saw her developing product shoots and design campaigns for an international fashion label while producing and selling original work. Thompson completed a Bachelor of Studio Textile Design at RMIT University in 2009, majoring in Studio Print and Weave, and graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts in 2021. While best known for her bold pastel pieces, Thompson’s diverse oeuvre includes textile art, printmaking, mixed media, and most recently, soft sculpture. With bold, uninterrupted lines, playful themes, and strong aesthetics, Thompson’s works are a fluent expression of her optimism and originality. Her layered domestic scenes and confident use of patterns pay homage to her formative studies in traditional textile techniques and family craft. This unique blend of practical skill and personality has paved the way for her recent boundary-pushing ‘Mini Beasts’ series, which undermines notions of human superiority over the environment in favour of a more integrated worldview. Samantha consolidates her art practice with regular roles in the Victorian Arts sector, working with local councils to deliver community-led creative projects and facilitating professional and practical skill development workshops for emerging and established artists from her rural studio. She begins her Masters of Contemporary Art at Victorian College of the Arts in 2022.