Sam Mathers grew up in Raglan and now lives in Auckland and works as a full time artist.

While living in London Sam worked for Sotheby’s moving fine art. This job influenced Sam a great deal, as he was constantly handling works by great artists. After returning to New Zealand Sam held his first solo exhibition in Raglan. He went on to hold a second, solo exhibition at Mobile Art Gallery in Auckland. Commissions followed for Saatchi & Saatchi and later for The Media Design School in Auckland. This led to another commissioned mural in San Diego in 2012 for New School of Architecture and Design (NSAD).

Sam is a hoarder of images, objects, consumer brands, everyday objects and creatures that inhabit his world. All these come together in a kind of symbiosis of connectedness. What draws us into his works is that we share much of his world. A kind of familiarity is felt. His influences come from the graphic nature of much of the commercial world together with the organic goodness of the rural scenes through which he travels to beaches where he surfs. His paintings are mostly two-dimensional in their laying out, but with closer inspecttion, many layers reveal themselves... building up of paint, scratching back, drawing, swathes of wet paint and intricate details, combine to beguiling effect.

Artists that have influenced him are Picasso, Cy Twombly, Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Since then Sam has exhibited in numerous group art shows throughout New Zealand and his art is now sought after by serious art collectors internationally.