Working with scavenged and constructed fabrics, Branden’s works in Leopard Hide are sublimations of his Brooklyn neighborhood. He attempts to tame and employ visual cues of urban life, rendering pace and stimulation into form. Residue of the city is collected, condensed and distilled into the work. As if leaning into a scent Branden follows a hunch, he considers palette and pattern as his work moves through a stream of consciousness. Sewn seams join and pronounce as welded steel, demarcating sections of the painting akin to boundaries on a subway map. Blotchy fields of saturated color resonate over the picture plane in equal parts dissonance and harmony.
In this body of work the interplay of micro and macro in contemporary life are forefront. Seamlessly transforming from cell, to crater, to moon, irregular forms repeat and sprawl across the boundaries of the work, mirroring the textures of the fabric they are laid upon. In Branden’s work, fractal moments of signage, advertisements, and structures dance into a cosmic display where the infinitesimal and the microscopic intermingle.

Sam Branden (b.1991, Cleveland, OH) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA from the Columbus College of Art & Design in 2014. His most recent solo exhibition was held at Beverly’s, New York, NY (2021), and group shows include darkZone, NJ (2021); PRP Agency, Dallas, TX (2021), Pangeé, Montréal, QC (2019); and Bible Gallery, New York, NY (2019). Most recently, Branden was included in “Who’s Who?” New York City edition (sponsored by Puma and Newco Studio, 2023), a hard backed publication highlighting 75 notable downtown creatives.