Press

'Emerging artist Sam Wootton will be swinging open the doors of South London's ForeverGood this Thursday for his first solo show, presenting surreal, well-dressed portraits that tap into tech, AI and the weird corners of the internet. It's only on for a few days, so pull yourself out of bed and get down. Wootton's one to watch.'

'Curated by Isaac Andrews, the London Exhibition turns a blind eye to education or art world accolades: 'The art world is already elitist enough.'

Included in 'Recommended openings this week' for the W/C 4th September.

'During the event (For Paris Fashion Week) we had a live art performance from London based artist Sam Wootton, who painted a beautiful piece amidst all the chaos. He let us know the piece is part of a larger body of work centred around building your identity while caring for your inner child.'

'Sam Wootton is a bold, articulate and skilled painter, finishing an English literature degree at Kings college , he has since worked as a model, radio presenter, in journalism and as a stylist, the world is quite literally this young Artist’s oyster. From 2018, his paintings have been creating quite the stir among the London Art scene and on Tik Tok , where he’s got quite the following.'

'Sam Wootton's space resembled an ornamental magpie's nest. The 'nest' contained shoes, the ash of incense, scrunched up tubes of paint, books, radios, plants, all laid on the floor beneath his artwork, acting as an educational collage, a crime scene style investigation into Sam's mind and inspiration, presented for his audience's consumption..."I'm an advocate for creating a gallery space that you would move through with the same ease with which you'd move through your own home or a party"...'I feel very comfortable here'.

'Despite being well-established in London's fashion circles, artist Sam Wootton is much more than a pretty face. Having now established an almost cult-like following for his distinctive, realist paintings, Wootton has moved from the ranks of model to bonafide artist in a matter of months, making him someone to both watch for the future and enjoy in the present.

When I was given the opportunity to sit down for drinks with Sam, I had to take it – ever-articulate and thoughtful about his own work, I knew I had plenty of thoughts, but wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.'

'Take, for example, the meteoric growth of London-based artist Sam Wootton on the platform (TikTok). The recent graduate has amassed more than 72,900 likes on his videos detailing his painting process from his bedroom, while still yet to accrue much by way of an exhibition history. Wootton is by all counts a bona fide artist, or certainly as much as any other graduate beginning to find their way, but one must ask if this is simply akin to the influencer-artist hybrid which is so easily discarded above, or something altogether different. Despite Wootton’s model good looks and dulcet narration, the focus of the content remains the production of a piece, not simply that of his art-adjacent life, more glamor than gouache.'

'Art exists in the smallest, most informal spaces. Art is often on our phone. Art can be very little, or integrated into accessible design. It can be a doormat, or the opening animation to an app.My work's built upon this premise. I love inspiring people to think about my work, but never aim to be difficult for the sake of it. I aim to find beauty in so much that's often disregarded as vapid. One of my friends recently described my work as ‘deifying, without making the subject gods’, and I think I like that as a summation.'

'After graduating from King’s College London and beginning to work with Dover Street Market, Sam Wootton continues to showcase his insanely unique creative flair through a series of alluring works. As a model and radio presenter for JuiceBox Radio, with experience in styling and journalism, the London-based creative exhibits his boundless talents throughout multiple avenues, cementing himself as one to watch. Infusing both classical and contemporary features into his work, the proficient painter is storming the art world with an authenticity impossible to ignore. Who you know comin’ like this?' 

'Sam Wootton is an incredible young artist whose work consists of an interesting fusion of contemporary and classical elements. Last year he debuted his work in his first public exhibition, ’Art and (H) Aktivism,’ in central London. This year he has been focusing on developing his skills as an artist, as well as becoming involved in the HIM + HIS project which endeavors to aim attention at issues regarding men's mental health.'

'We talked to the creator of HIM + HIS, a new book that encourages men to talk about depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.Named HIM + HIS, it’s a compilation of responses, by people of all genders, to the topic of why boys and men aren’t encouraged to express themselves, and it asks its contributors to do so however they please.'

'Sam Wootton is an artist, model and radio presenter based in London who currently works with Dover Street Market. His bold and captivating oil paintings showcase his amazing talent. His work has received recognition from actors such as Michael Ward to musicians such as Lancey Fouxx. We, at Blessed, love his work and are excited to see what he does next.'