Sam Stern

Sam Stern is a completely self-taught artist who found his way into the world of conceptual art at a young age. The energy and rawness of urban art—especially the work of graffiti artists—served as an early source of inspiration and motivation. For years, he worked with photo collages, combining images into new, layered compositions. Later, he incorporated paint into his process, gradually shaping his current mixed-media style.

The transition from analog to digital photography marked a significant turning point. Digital image editing became—and remains—the common thread running through much of his work. Stern almost always works in series, driven by a single central theme: walls, old movie stars, cities, or everyday objects. He gives each subject its own series, its own universe.

Transience is a recurring motif. Stern focuses his lens on erosion, peeling paint, loose paper, and objects on the verge of disappearing. From these fragments, he constructs his mixed-media photography. The power of his work lies in its layering: each layer carries a story, each texture a memory. Stern invites the viewer to look beyond the surface, to let themselves be drawn into his way of thinking and seeing.

In recent years, Stern has been in close contact with South American urban artists. Within that movement, the transience of street art is also central: how long does a mural last, and when is a poster covered up, removed, or scraped away? Stern explores this theme by bringing outdoor art indoors, thereby extending the lifespan of the ephemeral.

For Stern, transience is something unique. “Behind everything lies a story of energy, love, and farewell,” he says. He wants to make that story palpable in every work.