Sam Blanchard - Roy Alum 2005
Roy G. Biv was the first exhibition I had out of graduate school, back in 2005.
Growing up in Columbus, I had an awareness of the gallery, but it wasn’t until I moved back to town after graduate school that I began visiting with any frequency. The year after school can be a tough one for many artists. Losing your artist community and reestablishing your practice beyond the framework of school is a real challenge. My wife and I moved to the Short North to be near some old friends and live in the “cool” part of town.
In a strange twist of fate, it turned out that we had rented a house right across the street from one of the most influential contemporary artists in the world. There’s nothing like seeing your front porch on an episode of Art21 to remind yourself that location is not a barrier or excuse when it comes to producing impactful artwork.
I worked part-time and spent the rest of my days wandering around town hoping I would somehow bump into other artists. One of my frequent stops was Roy G. Biv. Diana Matuszak was the director at the time, and she was incredibly welcoming. I’m pretty sure I saw every show three times that fall. I applied in the next cycle and was given my first exhibition in the summer of 2005. That was the first of many exhibitions to come. I am very thankful for the relatively short time we spent living in Columbus before moving on to follow work opportunities. Roy G. Biv provided me with my first break: acceptance from someone outside the institutions in which I had developed. I’m proud that it will always remain the first line on my résumé.
https://www.samblanchard.com/
Bio:Sam Blanchard is an Ohio-born artist living and working in Virginia. He has an active exhibition record, with solo exhibitions at such venues as the Delaware Contemporary, Munson Museum, Indianapolis Art Center, Sculpture Center (Cleveland), and The New Gallery (Calgary). In 2025, he received a Professional Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, was presented with the SECAC Award for Artistic Excellence, and was also selected as a finalist for the Trawick Prize for Contemporary Art. His collaborative works in the fields of Engineering and Computer Science have audiences totaling more than half a million in person viewers. He is an Associate Professor of Sculpture at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. He received his BFA from Ohio University and MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.