Sam Octigan
Always Starting Somewhere, 2023
180cm x 120cm
Australian-born artist Sam Octigan’s practice both revels in the pleasure of exploring the qualities of paint and pursuing the mastery of the craft. His energetic canvases express a fascination with form, texture and composition, while thematically exploring culture, media, communication and representation.
This is evident in this work Always Starting Somewhere where Octigan has arranged the compositional elements to draw the viewers’ eye back and forth across the canvas. Forms and figures meld into each other, appearing and disappearing amongst the contrasting colours and textures. The optical play of the paint creates a deliberate visual obfuscation of a clear viewpoint, creating an alluring and engaging work.
Living and working in Melbourne, Octigan is driven by wanting to connect with the world around him and to express himself through his work. Exhibiting in traditional and non-traditional spaces, Octigan is always trying to produce what he describes as “the timeless and ephemeral ah-ha moment of feeling connected, seen and understood.”