SHELBY — Samantha Schneider’s paintings are filled with cotton candy skies, but darker emotions lurk beneath.
The Shelby-based artist explores themes of depression, heartbreak and the disillusionment of growing up in her latest series. “Betwixt” will be featured in a solo gallery show at the River House Arts gallery in Toledo next month.
“This show is an expression of going through change, trying to accept the fact that I’m not a kid anymore and moving into adulthood,” the 24-year-old artist said.
“A lot of these works kind of go with this dreamcore or weirdcore aesthetic. You’re discombobulated, you’re confused and you don’t really know who you are or what’s going on. I like that sort of eerie vibe along with that child vibe at the same time.”
It’s likely Schneider inherited some talent and an appreciation for all things whimsical. Her grandmother was a painter and her father worked as a special effects artist under Robert Kurtzman.
Schneider’s journey as an artist began in her teens, when she started creating anime fan art. Soon, she was drawing her favorite characters so often it her teachers scolded her in class.
“I can’t say I was really thinking it would go anywhere. I just enjoyed doodling,” she said.
Schnedier graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) in 2021 with a double major in painting and drawing. During her time at CIA, she produced two solo shows and won multiple prizes and scholarships.
Her work has been featured in group shows across Ohio, including Richland Source’s Reporting Reimagined project in 2022.
“Betwixt” is a nine-piece collection of surrealist oil paintings. Schnedier said many of the pieces use a disjointed mix of images and text, along with a childlike playfulness. Some of the pieces feature retro video game motifs. In one, the words ‘GAME OVER’ float in the forefront in pixelated text.
Her favorite in the series, “Changing Channels,” depicts a human figure with angel wings and a television for a head. The figure’s single eye looks toward a remote control that’s floating into the clouds.
“Sometimes you’re just very depressed and you’re very sad,” she said. “It’s not something that you can change just as easily as a click of the remote; you’re going to be sad and it’s going to stay that way for a while.
“Even if there’s like happy great things around you, even if the skies looking beautiful and people around you are being so nice, sometimes you just got to be sad.”
Schneider said painting the series helped her work through those emotions. While she wasn’t trying to create art with a “deep” meaning, she hopes it will inspire viewers to reflect.
“I guess I want them to reminisce about their life or take some sort of emotional trip,” she said.
“I made it for is kind of a therapy for me, not necessarily a therapy for someone else. But if they look at it and get something from it, that makes me happy too.”
“Betwixt” opens at River House Arts on August 12. An opening reception is scheduled for August 18 from 5 to 8 p.m.
