Ringling College Receives Christian Sampson Installation

April 6, 2022 – Sarasota

Dr. Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design, announced today that a generous circle of Ringling College supporters has enabled the important gift of Christian Sampson’s installation, Vita in Motu (2019). The work was created for the Sarasota Art Museum’s inaugural exhibition, Color. Theory. & (b/w), and is currently on view in the Museum’s Third Floor Jonathan McCague Arcade. In keeping with Sampson’s site responsive practice, Vita in Motuincorporates the building’s architecture with the rotation of the sun throughout the day, creating an immersive experience in which colors change and melt away as the day progresses. 

“We are incredibly grateful to this special group of donors for their generosity, which allows us to retain and continue to exhibit this one-of-a-kind, site-specific work at the Museum,” said Dr. Thompson. “We’re thrilled that this extraordinary installation will remain a part of Ringling College, and will continue to inspire and excite generations of students and Sarasota community members.”

“Vita in Motu is such a beautiful, resonant reminder to be present as the day unfolds and we are pleased to offer our visitors at Sarasota Art Museum the chance to bask in the work’s colors throughout each day,” said Virginia Shearer, executive director of Sarasota Art Museum. “I especially enjoy watching our visitors explore the piece trying to figure out how it works and how their interactions can affect the light projections.”

Based in Los Angeles, Christian Sampson (b. 1974) holds a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design and an MFA from Hunter College. Sampson works with both tangible and intangible materials – Plexiglas, polymers, wood, dyes, light, reflection, and shadow – to explore space and perception. His works are often site-specific, uniquely responding to the architectural spaces in which they reside. Vita in Motu takes inspiration from Sampson’s childhood experiences growing up on the West Coast of Florida. “From an early age, the play of light and color on the water and in the skies shaped my imagination. The sunsets of the West Coast are so beautiful and dramatic and it really gives one a sense of their place in the universe,” Sampson said. Constructed with dichroic film, acrylic, and glass, Vita in Motu builds on the artist’s deep interest in 18th-century “American Sublime” landscape painting as well as his decades-long practice of experimenting with paint, color, reflection, and projection of light in his work.

“This magnificent installation provides us with a special opportunity to explore one of the fundamental elements of art education – the art and science of color,” said Dr. Thompson. “Vita in Motu has become a Museum favorite for visitors of all ages. We are so thankful to our generous circle of supporters for giving this important work a permanent home at Ringling College of Art and Design.”

The artist is available for interview, please contact Annie Wharton, Annie Wharton Consulting: at anniewharton@gmail.com / m: 310.447.8021