"I remember very insignificant things that now come to me with a wave of emotion, a longing for someone I used to be. Things as simple as a distinct chlorine and laundry smell bring me back to when I was 7, wet from my neighbor's blue inflatable pool, eating ice cream as I sit with a damp towel on the living room carpet watching Pokémon. I see Halloween decorations in the store, and I can remember the feeling of excitement, a flutter in my chest, an anticipation for a great event of one night of dressing up with friends and gathering candy. The smell of pumpkin warmed by a candle’s flame follows us throughout the neighborhood. I can't remember conversations we had but I remember the feeling…the look…the smell. The memories blur together to create an amalgamation of true happiness. Happiness felt so easy, it came so naturally." -Samantha Schneider

A recent graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), Schneider double majored in painting and drawing. During her time at CIA she received excellence in studio practice along with the Eastman (1912)-Bolton Memorial Prize, Mary Seymour Brooks Scholarship for Painting and Liza Noble '48 Scholarship for Excellence in Painting. Her work is highly autobiographical; drawing on narratives of growth through trauma, learning to love the ever changing aspects of self, and purging past experiences through cryptic modern symbolism. Schneider is her own muse, creating large scale portraiture that features different versions of herself as the protagonist. Bright, colorful, and dreamlike features create a juxtaposition of childlike wonder and ominous, unsettling messages.

Samantha Schneider, an accomplished oil painter residing in Shelby, OH, Schneider carved her artistic niche with massive figurative works that seamlessly blend drama and soft elegance. Specializing in self-portraiture.

An alum of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), Schneider graduated in 2021 with a double major in painting and drawing. Her academic journey was marked by exceptional studio practice, earning her the Eastman (1912)-Bolton Memorial Prize. Additionally, she was honored with the Mary Seymour Brooks Scholarship for Painting and the Liza Noble '48 Scholarship for Excellence in Painting, She has exhibited work in multiple group and solo shows.