Samuel Schwindt (b. 1996) is always looking for the maddest spectacles and vampiest explosions. A word|object|surface-smith, he originates from an evangelical community and contradictory motorcycle culture in Indiana (he left religion on highway 65 north to Chicago). Through his young-life he honed skills in wood and metal, and used his craft-history to receive a BFA in Studio Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2019) and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from University of Illinois at Chicago (2024). Now, he works as commission-based leather-gear crafter, archivist, sculptor, curator, freelance writer, and educator.
Recent exhibitions and project-sites include the Leather Archives and Museum, South Bend Museum of Art, Gallery 400, the Gender and Sexuality Center at University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago Art Department, Evanston Art Center, Boccarra Art Brooklyn, Chicago Sculpture International Project Space, Side Street Studio Arts, Epiphany Center for the Arts, and Parlour and Ramp. His written work ranges from news stories, reviews, and essays, published in Impulse Magazine, Sixty Inches from Center, Another Chicago Magazine, NewCity Art + Lit, Pride Source, Art Dose, New Art Examiner, and Chicago Reader.
Current and Upcoming Exhibitions:
Shelf Show, SAWHORSE, Chicago, IL. Jan 25 - March 31
Samuel Schwindt: Pleasure Puncture, Ignition Project Space, Chicago, IL. June 5 - June 27
(Im)perceptible, Light Writers Neon, June 5 - June 27
Samuel Schwindt: Grimace Wink, Revuelta Galleria, Mexico City, MX, September 4 - October 7
Selected Recent Publications:
“Comforting Ghosts: Big Chick’s Art Collection,” Sixty Inches from Center
“Material Futures: Mapping a Closed Gallery’s History,” Sixty Inches from Center
Editor’s Selects: Yasmin Spiro,” Impulse Magazine
“From McCarthy to MAGA: How Today’s Right Wing Crusade is Repeating History,” Pride Source, and In Between the Lines (print)