Recently, a new showcase was spotlighted at the Landau Gallery, exhibiting abstract and colorful art from a professional artist for all visitors to enjoy. For newer students who might be unfamiliar with the gallery, the Landau Gallery at Belmont Hill is one of the top trademarks of the school’s art locations.It is a professional art gallery that spotlights current working artists, and often holds a diverse student display of work and talent from classes or individual projects. All shows or receptions held in the Landau Gallery are open to the public for viewing and enjoyment.
The showcase present in the gallery is that of professional artist Sampson Wilcox, a visual artist and designer, based in Midway Studios in Boston. Mr. Wilcox is also active in graphic design and other media work for the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. His personal statement reads: “I rely on the practice of walking to think about my projects and the problems I am solving in my work. My current paintings are focused on large-scale canvas and mural applications.”
After even a few observations of his work in the gallery and online, it is clear that Mr. Wilcox’s art style is abstract, colorful, and often utilizes smooth and wavy lines. Many of his pieces are pleasing and aesthetic to the viewer’s eyes.
In the Landau Gallery, the artwork displayed is both abstract and grandiose, with one painting only utilizing colors of gray and white on a significantly large canvas, while another contrasts blue, gray, and white on a smaller vertical canvas, giving off the impression of wavy smoke making its way around the frame. Yet another painting combines almost every color imaginable, with striking contrasts of red, green, yellow, blue, white, black, and gray, almost giving off the vibes of graffiti art in a tangled mess of abstract art.
Several of Mr. Wilcox’s pieces have been recognized in major exhibitions and publications. These works include: “Gaudi” in the Mayor’s Gallery in Boston City Hall (2019), “A High-Lift Micro-Aerial-Robot Powered by Low-Voltage and Long-Endurance Dielectric Elastomer Actuators,” as the cover artwork in Advanced Materials in Weinheim, Germany (2022), “Reasserting U.S. Leadership in Microelectronics – A White Paper on the Role of Universities,” as Design and Creative Direction for National Initiative in MIT (2021-2022), and “Vergangene Zukunft – In the Future” in the Atlantic Wharf Gallery in Boston (2018). Although he is based in Massachusetts and most of his work is displayed and presented within the region, his work has also crossed international borders, as in the case of Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and more.
If any students, parents, or faculty have not yet had the opportunity to go check out the current artwork hanging in the Landau Gallery, it is definitely recommended to go visit as soon as you can; it is well worth the time.
