b. 1973, United Kingdom

Sam Lock Biography

Sam Lock is a British abstract artist who engages with symbols, semiotics, and 'the presence of absence'. His practice involves not only painting but staining, sanding, and scorching his canvases, resulting in sweeping, gestural works that stand as artefacts of his process.

Read More

Early Life

The son of an artist, Lock grew up in the U.K. and Canada. As a young adult, he studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an MFA in 1997. During his degree, Lock was awarded a scholarship to travel to Rome, where he explored the relationship between archeology, history, and the process of painting. These interests would go on to inform his practice, shaping the evolution of his multidisciplinary approach to making.

Sam Lock Artworks

Sam Lock's large canvas paintings are often subjected to harsh processes and he uses a range of materials, two facets that have come to define his practice.

Lock's interest in archeology and the way time both erases and preserves the physical world can be seen in works such as Corner Stone (2019) or his 33-canvas installation Tempo (2021). The inversion of colour, gesture, and the embrace of negative space highlight the archeological resonances of movement, tempo, and mark, an extension of his previous studies and investigations when studying in Rome.

Signs and Symbols

Deeply personal and informed by lived experience, Lock's works have developed a vocabulary of abstract signs, derived from interior thoughts and conversations.

In Lock's 2021 series 'The Wall', fragments of geometric shapes and scrawling lines echo both childlike, spontaneous creation and complex systems of symbolic language. Part alien, part human, works like 'The Wall' act in dialogue with Lock's more sculptural pieces like All Thought (2021), in which severed, stone heads rest atop rounded mirrors, unfolding a conversation about our relationship to words, forms of expression, and the communication that takes place in the spaces left unfilled.

Exhibitions

Sam Lock has featured in both solo and group exhibitions.

Solo exhibitions include The world we live in, Lemon Street Gallery, Cornwall (2021); The fragment and the infinite, Scalo Lambrate, Milan (2021); Tempo, Cadogan Contemporary, London (2021); Presence of absence, Lemon Street Gallery, Cornwall (2020); Aspect, Kunst Rai Amsterdam, Twelve Twelve Gallery. The Hague, Netherlands (2019); in situ, &Gallery, Edinburgh (2019); Unremembered, Twelve Twelve Gallery, The Hague (2018); Liminal Space, Twelve Twelve Gallery, The Hague (2017); Trace Element, Studio 226 Chelsea Design Centre, London (2013).

Lock's group exhibitions include Juxtaposition, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (2018); Art the Hague, Twelve Twelve Gallery, The Hague (2017); Drawn, RWA, Bristol (2016); Art at Home, Jenna Burlingham Fine Art, London (2016); Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy of Art, London (2015).

Website and Instagram

Sam Lock's website can be found here, and his Instagram here.

Sarah Forman | Ocula | 2021

Sam Lock
featured artworks

View 117 More
Empty Echo 1 by Sam Lock contemporary artwork painting, mixed media
Sam Lock Empty Echo 1, 2024 Reclaimed ink stamp and mixed media on canvas
150 x 130 cm
Cadogan Gallery Request Price & Availability
Empty by Sam Lock contemporary artwork painting
Sam Lock Empty, 2024 Reclaimed ink stamp and mixed media on canvas
150 x 130 cm
Cadogan Gallery Request Price & Availability
under by Sam Lock contemporary artwork painting, mixed media
Sam Lock under, 2022 Mixed media on canvas
160 x 140 cm
Cadogan Gallery Request Price & Availability
Within, Withought I by Sam Lock contemporary artwork works on paper, mixed media
Sam Lock Within, Withought I, 2024 Mixed media and reclaimed ink stamp on paper
83 x 62 cm
Cadogan Gallery Request Price & Availability
Wall No 62, Don't look at it (2) by Sam Lock contemporary artwork works on paper, mixed media
Sam Lock Wall No 62, Don't look at it (2) Mixed media on book cover
20 x 13 cm
Patrick Heide Contemporary Art Request Price & Availability
Wall No 61, Don't look at it (1) by Sam Lock contemporary artwork mixed media
Sam Lock Wall No 61, Don't look at it (1) Mixed media on book cover
20 x 13 cm
Patrick Heide Contemporary Art Request Price & Availability
Wall No 60, Friction (7) by Sam Lock contemporary artwork print, mixed media
Sam Lock Wall No 60, Friction (7) Mixed media on book cover
31 x 22 cm
Patrick Heide Contemporary Art Request Price & Availability
Wall No 59, Friction (6) by Sam Lock contemporary artwork mixed media
Sam Lock Wall No 59, Friction (6) Mixed media on book cover
31 x 22 cm
Patrick Heide Contemporary Art Request Price & Availability
View 117 More

Sam Lock
current & recent
exhibitions

View 7 More
View 7 More

Represented by this
Ocula Member Gallery

Cadogan Gallery contemporary art gallery in London, United Kingdom
Cadogan Gallery London, Milan
View 7 More
Learn more about the market for works
by Sam Lock.
Enquire for a confidential discussion. Enquire Now
Simon Fisher, Ocula CEO
Ocula Advisor
Simon Fisher
Christoper Taylor, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Christopher Taylor
Eva Fuchs, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Eva Fuchs
Rory Mitchell, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Rory Mitchell
Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Follow Sam Lock
Stay ahead.
Receive updates on new artworks,
exhibitions and articles.
Your personal data is held in accordance with our privacy policy.
Follow
Do you have an Ocula account?
Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Get Access
Join Ocula to request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Do you have an Ocula account? Login
What best describes your interest in art?

Subscribe to our newsletter for upcoming exhibitions, available works, events and more.
By clicking Sign Up or Continue with Facebook or Google, you agree to Ocula's Terms & Conditions. Your personal data is held in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you for joining us. Just one more thing...
Soon you will receive an email asking you to complete registration. If you do not receive it then you can check and edit the email address you entered.
Close
Thank you for joining us.
You can now request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Close
Welcome back to Ocula
Enter your email address and password below to login.
Reset Password
Enter your email address to receive a password reset link.
Reset Link Sent
We have sent you an email containing a link to reset your password. Simply click the link and enter your new password to complete this process.
Login