Born Montclair, NJ. 1998
Lives Boston, MA
Solo Exhibitions
2026 Origins: Samantha Van Heest, DuPont Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA.
2023 DEEP/CLEAN, HOMME Gallery, Washington, DC.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2027 Forthcoming: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Stone Gallery, Boston University, Boston, MA.
2026 Forthcoming: Mid-Atlantic New Painting Biennial, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA.
EMERGE X, Bond Millen Gallery, Richmond, VA.
Quiet Unease, 82 Parris, Portland, ME.
Windows, Portals, Mirrors, Ramp Collective, 808 Corridor Gallery, Boston, MA.
Art@Sloane, Metcalf Trustee Center Portrait Gallery, Boston University, Boston, MA.
2025 Friends Of, Usan Usan, Washington, DC.
Portraits of the Most Known, Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
BLOOM, Usan Usan, Arlington, VA.
2024 No Place Like Home, Hamiltonian Artists, Umbrella Art Fair, Washington, DC.
Sign of the Times, DC Arts Center, Washington, DC.
Best In Show, Pamplemousse Gallery, Richmond, VA.
$99.99, theBlanc, New York, NY.
Summer Show, Rat Gallery, Washington, DC.
X on the Line, Dream Clinic Project Space, Columbus, OH.
Translation Through Art, Strathmore, Rockville, MD.
Flowers, ArtHouse, Richmond, VA.
Woman | Artist, Studio Gallery, Washington, DC.
Strange Oasis, The Material Room, Richmond, VA.
2023 UMBRELLA Art Fair, Washington DC.
Bubble Bath, Magma Maria, Offenbach, Germany.
WiP! Hamiltonian Artists, Washington DC.
Love is destructive. I need you. Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
People and the Planet, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC.
Adams Morgan Art Walk, DC Arts Center, Washington DC.
2022 2022 Fall Salon, Target Gallery, Alexandria, VA.
See Support Collect, Latela Curatorial, Washington DC.
Art-N-Stuff V, Ejecta Projects, Carlisle, PA.
Emerging Artists Exhibition, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD.
35th Annual McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition, Grand Gallery, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA.
SHE DC, Shop Made in DC, Washington, DC.
40UNDER40, Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro VA.
2021 still/life, Monochrome Collective, UMBRELLA Art Fair, Washington, DC.
HINDSIGHT, Marginal Art Projects, Virtual Exhibition.
Residencies & Fellowships
2025 Peter Bullough Foundation Residency, Winchester, VA.
Elf School of the Arts Winter Residency, Hayesville, NC.
2024 Torpedo Factory Post-Graduate Residency, Alexandria, VA.
Sparkplug Collective Fellow, DC Arts Center, Washington DC.
Grants and Awards
2026 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
2025 Boston University School of Visual Arts Merit Scholarship
2024 Peters Valley School of Craft Lenore G. Tawney Fiber Scholarship
2022 Arrowmont School of Art & Craft Dr. Judith Temple Scholarship
North House Folk School Full Scholarship
2020 Undergraduate Research Grant
2019 Alfred Levitt Memorial Scholarship in Art
Emil R. Schnellock Award for Excellence in Painting
2018 Rosalie Chauncey Memorial Scholarship
Publications
Ottawa Design Club: Renaissance, Zine 006, November 2023.
Space on Space Magazine: COLLECT, September 2023.
New American Paintings #148 South, April 2021.
Press
Studio Study: A Visit with Samantha Van Heest. Studio Gallery DC, August 2024.
In the galleries: The tension between humans and the environment.The Washington Post, July 2024.
Writing
“Felted Memories: The Kyrgyz Art of Building Ancestral Relationships Beyond Utilitarian Necessity,” American Art sponsored by the Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Fall 2024.
Select Workshops
Discard or Keepsake: Capturing Ephemera in Graphite and Gouache. Peter Bullough Foundation, April 2025.
Contemporary Still Life Painting. Phosphene Studios, May 2022.
Curatorial Projects
2025 She Speaks Through Art, Iona Senior Services, Washington DC.
2019 Exquisite Corpse, gallery202, Fredericksburg, VA
Artist Talks / Lectures
2026 Visiting Artist Series: Gallery Talk for Origins, duPont Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, March 12
2025 Lecture, University of Mary Washington, September 26.
Common Threads: Post-Grad Reflections Panel, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA, February 16.
2024 Sign of the Times: A Response to Current Culture Artist Talk, DC Arts Center, Washington, DC, December 8.
Lecture and Portfolio Reviews, University of Mary Washington, October 9.
Juror
2025 Torpedo Factory Postgraduate Residency. Alexandria, VA.
Peter Bullough Foundation, Spring Residencies. Winchester, VA.
DC Commission on the Arts &Humanities, General Operating Support and Visual Arts Fellowship juries. Washington, DC.
Experience
2026 - Graduate Assistant for MFA Painting, Boston University, Boston, MA
2026 - Teaching Assistant, Visual Arts Summer Institute (VASI), Boston University
2025 - 2026 SVA Communications Graduate Assistant, Boston University
2023 - 2025 Art Instructor, Art House 7, Arlington, VA
2024 - 2025 Teaching Artist Fellow, Paul Springs Retirement Community, Alexandria, VA
2023 - 2025 Teaching Artist, Iona Senior Services: Around Town Program, Washington DC
2022 - 2024 Communications Associate, Art Frankly, Remote Position
2020 - 2023 Art Instructor, New York School of Art, Vienna, VA
2022 - 2023 Gallery Assistant, Studio Gallery, Washington DC
2020 - 2021 Contractor, Amy Sherald’s Studio, Jersey City, NJ
2019 - 2020 President, UMW Student Art Association
2018 - 2020 Gallery Assistant, UMW Galleries
2019 Intern and Painting Assistant for Amy Sherald’s Studio, Jersey City, NJ
Education
2025 - M.F.A Candidate in Painting, Boston University, Boston, MA.
2016 - 2020 B.A. in Studio Art, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
2018 Marchutz School of Painting & Drawing, Aix-en-Provence, France, Study Abroad