Sam Roloff:
CLASS OF 1987
Cuesta CollegeClass of 1987
San luis obispo, CA
Sam's Story
Sam is from San Francisco, California. Sam later attended San Francisco Art Institute, Cabrillo College, Simpson CA, Cuesta College, San Francisco Art Institute (Printmaking (etching)) . Sam works(ed) at Flotoma Studios, Studio Ridge, Llc.
Music Sam likes includes The Dandy Warhols, Wil Kinky, Gotye. Movies Sam likes include CATFISH movie, Velvet Goldmine. TV shows Sam likes include Life's Too Short, Official Little Chocolatiers Fan Page, Skins Uk.
More about Sam:"A quick glance at Sam Roloffâs life suggests an adventure as varied and as colorful as the canvases he creates.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Roloff graduated with honors from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1993. His paintings were exhibited in numerous galleries and shows in San Francisco in the early nineties, including the renowned Luggage Store Gallery. During this time, Roloff witnessed the birth of the Mission School art movement. Centered in the Mission District of San Francisco, the movement took its cues from mural and graffiti art and emerged from a group of Roloffâs classmates at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Roloff was friends with many of the Mission School artists, but ultimately decided to pursue his own path. Always possessing a penchant for travel, Roloff hitchhiked through Mexico and Guatemala, finding inspiration for artistic endeavors in the rich cultures and bold characters he encountered.
Following his journeys in Central and South America, Sam lived in Prague, Czech Republic from 1994-95, where he ran a gallery and developed mastery of figurative works through his âWomen in Pragueâ series. This was a defining year for Roloff, which has influenced the arc of his career with echoes of this seminal time influencing his work today.
This was a defining year for Roloff, for even now, Roloff finds...Expand for more
that a new piece often harkens back to that figurative series. Three years after returning from Europe, Roloff married his wife, Cheryl, in his old San Francisco stomping grounds. A year later, they had their first child Max, now nine, and moved to Chicago. Their second son, Henry, was born three years later in the Windy City.
In 2002, the Roloff family found their way to Portland, where they currently reside. Their daughter Amelia was born that same year. Today, Roloff finds as much inspiration at home with his beautiful family as he once did in prestigious art school or circling the globe. He credits his children with bringing a fresh perspective and a sense of whimsy to his work, keeping his paintings fluid, rather than fixed and unchanging.
Today, Roloff finds as much inspiration at home in Oregon with his beautiful family as he once did in art school or circling the globe. He credits his children with bringing a fresh perspective and a sense of whimsy to his work, keeping his paintings fluid, rather than fixed and unchanging.
Roloffâs artistic influences are not limited to a certain country or time period, but rather are drawn from a span of artists, styles, and movements, including Picasso, with his absolute devotion to his craft, Max Ernstâs surrealism, Hieronymus Boschâs hypnotic detail, and Andy Warholâs portraits, color, and cultural influence.
Though now happily settled in the Portland area, Sam Roloff continues to push into new territory with paintings that blend abstract expressionism within the landscape, and with surrealist figurative works that seem to breathe and interact with the viewer through an unsettling and whimsical presence. The quality of his rendering is delicate and forthright at the same time, and is supported by a surface that speaks volumes about what lies beneath.".
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