Sam Shields MFA ’24

Sam Shields was raised in Massachusetts. She graduated from UMass Amherst with a BFA in architecture in 2017, and is currently pursuing an MFA at MECA&D. For Sam, painting is a form of self expression that allows her to better understand her subconscious and process her emotions. She is especially interested in topics centered around family, childhood, and memory. Through her figural paintings she revisits scenes from her past, and reimagines them with vibrant colors, textures and patterns. Her most recent work focuses on her dad, who died by suicide in 2022. These paintings, which feel more somber and disorienting than earlier works, are a way of processing her grief and honoring her dad.