“Veneer”
November 14, 2025 – January 9, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, November 14, 5-7pm
Samantha Hand graduated with a BFA from Virginia Tech and a MFA from Radford University. Hand has received several awards and recognitions for her portrait and figurative artwork and was selected to participate in ArtFields for the last two years. Hand is a member of the Portrait Society of America and was a participant in the Studio Incamminati Painting Workshops at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach in 2016 and 2017.
A defining drive in my art is to seek out discarded man-made materials and reimagine them in unconventional ways. In this body of work, I work with wood veneer and textiles from thrift store clothing to explore how we construct and present our identities to the world. Visually inspired by the pop culture inherent in mass produced garments, I am equally intrigued by the human stories woven into these pieces. Who wore them and why? What personal stories do they carry, and what layers of identity do they reveal?
I hunt for fabrics that convey a narrative, discovering textures, colors and patterns that highlight the contrast between the manufactured materials and the natural beauty of the wood. Together, these different materials form compositions where negative spaces and graceful curves evoke both the body’s contours and nature’s organic lines. Just as we apply veneer to alter a surface, or select clothing to project a personal image, my work explores how our choices reveal or obscure inner complexities.
For my solo exhibition, “Veneer”, I invite the viewer to consider the personal veneers that they themselves wear and find a connection to the natural world.
