Albert Samreth

Bio: (b. 1987, Long Beach, California) Lives and works in New York City and Phnom Penh. His work has been exhibited at institutions and galleries around the world including the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart in Berlin, betonsalon center de recherche in Paris, Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, the Singapore Art Museum, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, and Art Sonje Center in Seoul. His work has been reviewed in Frieze Magazine.

albertsamreth.com

Thesis Exhibition

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Artist Statement: I found and lost you many times. Keys open doors. We enter inside, the world outside lingers on us. First for having read the book of myths, I loaded the camera, and sharpened my knife. Donning my rubber suit, I set out to explore the wreck, seeking evidence of damage and remaining treasures. Slowly stroking my lamp along its flank, I discover the ribs of the disaster curve their assertion among the tentative haunters and the haters. The mermaid and merman circle silently, diving into the hold. I am she, I am he, whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes, whose desire lies obscurely inside barrels half-wedged and left to rot. The instruments once holding a course, now half-destroyed and fouled. The mystery deepens, and we're at risk of staying stuck. We need to clear it up, or the fog will settle in our hearts like a resin, permanently arresting us in place. The ladder hangs innocently from the pier, and I crawl down, not knowing when the ocean will begin. The sea is a force to be reckoned with, not a question of power. Here, at the edge of the city, I came to explore the wreck. We, by cowardice or courage, find our way back to this scene, carrying a knife, a camera, a book of myths, in which our names do not appear.

Past Tense, Divining History / Diving Into The Wreck. 2023/1973. A. Samreth / A. Rich

L to R: California Mission Burnout (Ceramics, artists plinth, ink on notecards, and books, 2023); Greater Force (Ceramics, artists plinth, ink on notecards, and books, 2023); Pelago (Pigment, oil, and wax on found wood, 2023); History Again (Hammered coins from various governments, 2023); Portal (Pigment, oil, and wax on found wood with hardware, 2023); Souvenir (Digital chromogenic print, and archival tape, 2023); Mahicantuck (Digital video; 2 min., looped, 2023)