Curator Statement:

In his inaugural solo exhibition at the National Arts Club, titled Money, Samuel Stabler offers an incisive exploration of the intricate dynamics between wealth and society, unearthing the often overlooked cultural artifacts that shape our collective understanding of value. Like an archaeologist sifting through layers of history, Stabler juxtaposes images from diverse domains—music, sports, cinema, history, and art—to illustrate how these elements coalesce to form a shared cultural memory intertwined with the mechanisms of commerce and capital. However, rather than idealizing or critiquing wealth outright, Stabler presents it as a lens through which we might better comprehend the motivations, desires, and contradictions embedded within the human psyche.

Money builds upon Stabler’s Combine series, where he continues to refine his labor-intensive cut-out technique while expanding his iconographic vocabulary. His process invites viewers into an aesthetic of precision and delicacy, where subtle color gradients and intricate linework create a sense of fragility that belies the weight of his themes. The subdued palette allows Stabler to layer multiple cultural references—celebrity athletes, film stills, iconic stock exchange buildings, and historical artifacts like the Benin Bronzes—into densely populated compositions that draw connections between personal ambition and societal structures of power.

In doing so, Stabler extracts familiar imagery from its commercial or historical context, reassembling it into unexpected visual narratives that challenge the viewer’s perception of value and meaning. This superimposition is not merely a formal technique; it underscores the absurdity embedded in the spectacle of modern civilization, revealing how disparate cultural symbols come to be invested with significance through the relentless circulation of capital. By evoking everything from the raw ambition that fuels garage startups to the grandeur of ancient art pillaged and commodified, Money encourages us to reflect on how deeply entrenched symbols of wealth and success shape our worldview, tracing this influence across different periods, geographies, and cultural contexts.

At its core, Money is not just an exploration of wealth but a critique of how wealth perpetuates itself as a cultural force—omnipresent yet elusive, mundane yet sacred. Through his unique practice, Stabler unveils the invisible threads linking personal identity, societal structures, and collective memory, inviting viewers to re-evaluate their own relationships to these symbols.

Press:

Whitehot Magazine