At Home On Piety Hill

It’s always a pleasure to share Sam’s art, updating everyone on his latest adventures. But, there are other contemporary artists I really like and they happen to be friends of Sam. It brings me great pleasure to introduce you to a few of them and link to their work.

Chris Vasell
Chris was Sam’s roommate and confident in Chicago, whose career really took off a few years ago. When I visited them in 2003, Chris’ fortunes improved to the point that he was able to move into his own apartment a couple doors down. They were thrilled to have their own studio space! Nevertheless, the two are virtually inseparable, so Sam will be accompanying Chris to his upcoming Paris show.

Chris has received critical acclaim on art blogs and publications for his unique use of watercolor, developed over a “…two-year experimentation period during which Vasell acquired his idiosyncratic technique of layering multiple painterly surfaces onto his canvases.”

I realize the following observation may be superfluous to the arts crowd, but Chris is also a delightful, smart young man and it was a pleasure to get to know him for the short time I was in Chicago (our trip to the Pakistani restaurant was particularly memorable). The next artist is just as charming, likeable and incredibly energetic, creating a tremendous body of work.

Brook Caballero
Brook and Sam have been friends since childhood and both were happy to be reunited after our three-year sojourn in Maine. During holiday breaks from art school, it seemed as if the two would immediately home-in on one another upon returning to Nevada City.

I never really knew what Brook did, artistically, until I accepted an invitation to his personal studio space a couple of years ago. I went with some apprehension, wondering if Brook was simply being polite to “Sam’s dad.” I didn’t know him that well and he is fairly reserved – we never really spoke much before that. Brook gave me a warm welcome and I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume and quality of his work. I remember speaking to Sam afterwards on the phone, gushing over Brook’s stuff.

I like Brook’s wide-ranging ability to work in different mediums. This very large painting remains my all-time favorite and it is unsold. Perhaps I can convince Denise that it would fit in our living room.

Silas Dilworth
Silas befriended Sam at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica NY. Our son was out on his own for the first time, so Denise and I were happy and relieved that Silas and his brothers were there to take him in. When Sam moved to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Silas was not far behind and he found his real niche there.

Silas’ strong suit is graphic design, particularly fonts. He even has his own digital foundry! He also does a bit of fine art and web design.

Did I Forget Anyone?
I hope not. Space only allows me to highlight these three, but I wanted to mention a number of other creative individuals, who Sam grew up with in or around Nevada County. I often wonder if there is something in the water or some kind of creative symbiosis that produced so many talented contemporaries. How else could you explain such a relatively small rural county producing the likes of Adam Kline, Levi Nunnink, Jason Powers, Joanna Newsom, Jonah Wells, Aaron Ross, Corey Creasey and more? I’m going to add some links in the left column and, if I’ve left anyone out, please remind me in your comments.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2005 at 11:11 am and is filed under Art and Design, Each and Every. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.