Art of Samson in Tampa | United States

About the Artist

Artist Biography

Image is a photo of Samson Huang or Sam Huang in Tampa Florida.

Samson (b. Taiwan) is a Washington, DC-based self-taught visual artist whose work explores intuitive character creation, reduced forms, and layered internal architectures. Immigrating from Taiwan to NYC’s Lower East Side in the early 1970s, Samson grew up in a working class family and learned to navigate two distinct cultural worlds at an early age. Unable to speak English initially, he developed a heightened visual perception and a deep affinity for fine art while exploring the city's five boroughs.

Although he initially pursued a career in Computer Engineering and Law, Samson maintained a disciplined, self-directed studio practice—studying art history, technique, and visual theory independently. In 2010, he dedicated his practice fully to visual art with a focus on creating meaningful, impactful works that speak to shared human experiences.

Previously based in Tampa, Florida, Samson’s work earned regional acclaim, including exhibitions at the Tampa Museum of Art and the Gasparilla Arts Festival. Now working out of his Washington, DC studio, his practice continues to evolve through expressive mark-making across acrylic, oil, watercolor, ink, and mixed media.

Artist Statement

My work explores the unseen frameworks of human experience—internal states, memory, and cultural navigation—through an intuitive, reduced approach to form. Rooted in an early need to decipher my environment through visual observation, my practice relies on expressive mark-making, gestural line work, and layered washes across canvas and mixed media.

Rather than rendering strict representation, I allow figures and symbolic characters to emerge dynamically through the process of painting. The canvas becomes a space where raw, immediate impulse meets deliberate spatial structure. By reducing complex forms to their essential lines and energetic silhouettes, I aim to strip away visual noise and reveal the core emotional and psychological architecture beneath. Drawing on traditional techniques, contemporary mark-making, and a self-directed study of form, each piece serves as a record of presence—a visual dialogue between internal reflection and the external world.

Artist CV

Solo Exhibitions

2024 — Luminous Void, Gallery 221 at HCC Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL
2019 — Open Portals, Gallery on the Boulevard, North Tampa Branch Library, Tampa, FL
2019 — Portraits of Mugshots, Tre Amici At The Bunker, Ybor City, FL
2018 — Cucalorus Festival Art Pop-Up, Bottega Gallery, Wilmington, NC
2007 — East Meets West, Gallery Cafe Xujiahui, Shanghai, China

Selected Group & Juried Exhibitions

2026 — WallMountable, DC Arts Center, Washington, DC
2026 — June Pride, The Werk Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2025 — CONFAB 2025 (Juried), Washington Studio School, Washington, DC
2024 — NOW on View (Juried Installation), HCC Gallery, Tampa, FL
2023 — Our Legacy of Advocacy (Juried), National Nurses United Global Convention, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA
2023 — All Will Be Revealed, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2023 — Touched by a Lobster: A Surrealist Art Show, The Werk Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2022 — Gasparilla Festival of the Arts (Juried Emerging Artist), Tampa, FL
2022 — Karst Grounds::Quatro Sunistra (Juried), Tempus Projects, Tampa, FL
2022 — Abstraction, Tampa Regional Artists, Tampa, FL
2021 — Scope of Solidarity (Juried), National Nurses United, Oakland, CA
2021 — Skyway 2020/21: A Contemporary Collaboration (Juried), Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
2021 — AIR Show - Artists In Recovery (Juried), QUAID Gallery, Tampa, FL
2021 — Diamonds, Razors & Champagne (Juried), A Space Gallery, New York, NY
2006 — DC Outsider Art, Holmead House Gallery, Washington, DC
2005 — Hey, Is That a Boy or a Girl?, Warehouse Gallery, Washington, DC

Grants, Awards & Honors

2024 — Professional Development Grant Recipient, Hillsborough County Arts Council, FL
2020 — Emergency Art Grant Recipient, Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and Arts, FL
2020 — Grant Award Review Panelist, Hillsborough County Arts Council, FL
2019 — Professional Development Grant Recipient, Hillsborough County Arts Council, FL
2019 — International Prize Winner, Global Nurse Solidarity Assembly Art Competition, San Francisco, CA

Public & Institutional Collections

HCC Art Galleries, Tampa, FL (NOW on View #1, Interdependent Pavilion Installation)
National Nurses United, Headquarters, Oakland, CA (120 Years of Advocacy, Scope of Solidarity, #ProtectNurses)
National Nurses United, Headquarters, Oakland, CA (Scope of Solidarity)
National Nurses United Southern Region Office, Ybor City, FL (Solidarity and Justice — 9 ft × 30 ft Mural)
Humane Society Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL (Kila)
Planned Parenthood, FL (Three Graces)

Press, Lectures & Visiting Artist Appearances

2023 — Guest Speaker, Coffee & Conversation Presentation, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2022 — Featured Interview, CanvasRebel Magazine
2022 — Guest Speaker, Diversity Included, Accurate Representation Matters, NAWBO
2022 — Featured Interview, Voyage Tampa Magazine
2021 — Featured Artist & Interview, Skyway 20/21 Series, Tampa Museum of Art
2020 — Guest Panelist, #ProtectNurses Virtual Exhibition
2020 — Guest Lecturer, Art History Department, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL
2019 — Feature Article, “An Artist's Take on For-Profit Prisons,” Creative Loafing Tampa