Biography
Samantha da Silva (1978) is a Brazilian-born artist living in Salt Lake City, UT. She is a third-generation artist shaped by migration, assimilation, and her desire to create. She has moved over forty times as a result of natural disasters and life circumstances. Like many who have experienced migration, she underwent a process of assimilation at the crucial age of 10, and her relationship with things was forever altered by having to leave so much behind. Her artwork has become a navigational tool that helps to connect her to new surroundings and provides a form of consistency in a life full of movement.
She is best known for her large-scale relief sculptures that resemble topographic maps and cracked earth, made from found materials such as dirt and sawdust. The themes of this body of work revolve around belonging, spirituality, mapmaking, and resourcefulness.
As an educator, da Silva has taught at various public and private institutions in Canada, the United States, Hawaii, and France, and her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Bravo TV, HGTV, and others.
She is best known for her large-scale relief sculptures that resemble topographic maps and cracked earth, made from found materials such as dirt and sawdust. The themes of this body of work revolve around belonging, spirituality, mapmaking, and resourcefulness.
As an educator, da Silva has taught at various public and private institutions in Canada, the United States, Hawaii, and France, and her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Bravo TV, HGTV, and others.