Bruce Samuelson

Bruce Samuelson (b. 1946) studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Immediately after graduation, Samuelson was hired and remains one of the most influential professors at the institution today - all while pursuing his own artistic endeavors. Samuelson and many of his students are recognized leaders of the international contemporary art movement, Disrupted Realism, a term coined to describe a trend towards abstraction among contemporary figurative painters.

Bruce Samuelson has been depicting the human form in interesting and beautiful ways from a young age. His choice to attend PAFA was a natural decision as it is known for its study of live models. While most other students jockeyed for spots toward the front for a clear view of the model, Samuelson found himself at the back. This position influenced Samuelson’s perception of the figure. He deferred to his memory of the model due to the interruptions in his line of sight, a practice that jump-started the evolution of his forms from representational depictions to ambiguous shapes and structures that flow in and our of one another. Guided by the beauty of the form and in search of order from chaos, Samuelson’s paintings are rooted in memory and the pursuit of beauty.

Bruce Samuelson has received several awards from PAFA, including the Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award. His work has been exhibited in over thirty solo exhibitions in New York and Pennsylvania, and various group shows throughout the region. His drawings and paintings have been collected by both private and public patrons, including the Chapel Art Center, Saint Anselm College, the Picker Art Gallery, the Phillip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, PAFA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Woodmere Art Museum.