Biography
Samantha M. Eckert was born in Glen Cove, NY, and raised in Brownsville, VT. She lived in New Mexico for many years and returned to Vermont in 2012. Eckert earned her MFA in Visual Art in 2015 from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, VT; a Certification in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM; and a bachelor’s degree from Vermont College of Norwich University, Montpelier, VT. She has attended several artist residencies, including Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO; Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; La Macina di San Cresci, Greve, Chianti, Italy; and she was a two-time artist in residence at The Studios at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA. She is currently enrolled (2025) in the NYC Crit Club Canopy Program, mentored by Sharon Butler (Two Coats of Paint). Eckert has exhibited in MA, NH, NM, VT, and Italy. She is a Vermont-based emerging artist.
(Shown in photo with crocheted textile made by her grandmother, Antonietta Aloi Mercadante)
Artist Statement
Samantha Mercadante Eckert is a curator and multidisciplinary artist whose work stems from an intuitive process that involves time, deep observation, contemplation, and experimentation. Her latest series of paintings embodies the style of ‘Casualism’, which prioritizes the creative process over the outcome. Eckert draws inspiration from her Italian heritage and her fragmented identity, while also being aware of the subtle socio-political narratives that influence her work. These themes encompass her concerns about social media addiction, the troubling rise of artificial intelligence, and the complexities of politics. She is often captivated by the beauty of the stars, sci-fi storytelling, the mysteries of time and memory, and a profound sense of longing—elements that intertwine with irony, myth, and faith in her work.
The new clay works are crafted with care and gentle handling, embodying both feminine sensuality and a connection to nature, particularly sea plants and living organisms.
On liquid painting | 2013 essay “Cover the Earth” by Stephen Maine, written for the exhibition, “POUR,” at the Schmidt Gallery, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. An exhibition that examined the use of poured paint in contemporary art practice. “In the context of the contemporary metropolis, the idea of fluidity connotes mobility of all kinds, social agility, flexibility, adaptability: flow. It suggests familiarity with a diverse milieu and skill in navigating it. It is analogous to the peak experience for an artist in the studio or at the keyboard or in the concert hall, the very opposite of being stuck. Fluidity implies mastery, of which a significant aspect is knowing when and how to loosen one’s grasp of technique and permit the situation to shape itself. The ebb and flow of liquid pigment embodies, in material, plastic form, those preternaturally fruitful moments of creative endeavor when an exhilarating sense of freedom convinces us that anything is possible.” –Stephen Maine
