2026 Senior Exhibition Artists 2026 Senior Exhibition Artists: Sam Angelini

About Sam Angelini

Sam Angelini (B. 2000 Providence, RI) is a graduating BFA studio art major in the College of Visual and Performance Art at UMass Dartmouth, with a concentration in Sculpture. Angelini has also studied woodworking, ceramics, photography, and fashion design. She will walk the runway in the 2026 Light & Fashion Show wearing her design alongside two models displaying her dresses. Angelini recently exhibited work in collaboration with DATMA (Design Art Technology) in Being Seen: Celebrating Southcoast Pride at the Marion Art Center (Marion, MA) and her work has also been displayed at The School of Visual Arts (NY, NY). Angelini received first place in the Student Honors Photo Exhibit at Harrisburg Area Community College and her work has been featured in The Herald Newspaper. Angelini’s work experience includes jobs with Marathon Foto and Shutterfly in addition teaching sculpture and ceramics at Creative Arts in Park (Brookline, MA).

Statement

By weaving with invasive vines sourced from the walking trails on campus, I create massive botanical structures for outdoor installations and ultimately, for events. I first discovered the vines while trail clearing with the Sustainability Department and was instructed to remove them, so the trees they climbed would not suffocate under their pressure. Here, I found hundreds of vines intertwined between trees and began to hack and chop. I grabbed a Y shaped stick and as many vines as I could carry half a mile back to my dorm. As I began to wrap these carefully selected sticks and vines through each other, I fell in love with the process. Further inspired by artists such as Charlie Baker and Patrick Dougherty, I now combine welding, trail clearing, and weaving to form intricate functional archways. 

In addition to archways, I’ve also recreated a bed with vines woven around the headboard in tribute to my late mother. For me, her bed is a metaphor and placeholder for the great memories we shared. The sculpture becomes a representation of her legacy. The vines are used differently here than in the archways, acting more like roots, as if they’re sprouting from the ground. 

Building with vines is dependent on engagement with a specific environment. I wait for the right season to collect, searching through the woods, scanning the landscape, and rescuing trees from stifling invasive plants. The use of vines in my practice was born from a goal of sustainability for the environment, and in turn it has become a part of my practice that allows me to center and calm myself. My ability to repurpose the material beyond its disposal is the core of what I try to communicate with this work. 

@samangeart

Sam Angelini

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