Sam Hopkins
Sam Hopkins is an emerging Western Australian artist and sculptor. Growing up on a vast property backing onto an endless nature reserve in the Perth Hills kindled his love for the natural world. It was the catalyst for an ever-growing fascination with material and form. Sam’s father worked overseas for most of his childhood which left him maintaining their large property from a young age, and so sparked the need to teach himself, use tools and problem solve, and he hasn’t stopped since.
Finding inspiration from human behavior, nature, world travel and experimenting with materials & tools in new ways, Hopkins takes commonplace materials and teases out shapes and narratives, peeling back layers to reveal hidden meanings and perspectives. A process that requires both heavy machinery and careful handwork merges man and machine.
Working alongside and mentored by senior sculptor Johannes Pannekoek has enabled Hopkins to develop his own works and on a grander scale. Hopkins has received multiple awards, including the WA Sculpture Scholarship at Sculpture by The Sea Cottesloe 2020 and has exhibited across Australia.
Exhibitions include Sculpture by the Sea Bondi & Cottesloe, Sculpture for Clyde and Sculpture at Bathers. His work is showcased in private and public collections, including Brookfield Properties Perth, Yarra Valley VIC, NSW & Hale School WA.
When not creating his own works, Hopkins has assisted, fabricated and repaired sculpture for various sculptors, as well as being flown around the country running installation teams for the likes of Sculpture by the Sea, Sculpture on the Scarp and Liverpool Council Powerhouse Museum.
Artist Statement
My inspiration at present explores the balance between human behavior and nature, our impact and pushing the possibilities of material form. I continually pursue innovation and experimentation, breaking the traditional rules of making, seeking to create positive and negative compositions of space and a dichotomy of hard and soft, weightlessness and heft. I hope to evoke contemplation and dialogue on our impact on nature and ourselves.
Artist CV
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Untitled. 2021, traffic jam galleries, Sydney
2021 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
2020 Invited Artist: Fine Art At Hale, Hale School, Wembley Downs, WA
2020 Sculpture By The Sea, Cottesloe, WA
2020 Sculpture at Bathers, Fremantle, WA
2019- 2020 – ARTPark, Woolloomooloo, NSW
2019 Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi, NSW
2019 & 2018 Sculpture On The Scarp, Darlington, WA
2019 Sculpture for Clyde, Batemans Bay, NSW
2019 Invited Artist: Fine Art At Hale, Hale School, Wembley Downs, WA
2019 Selected Group Exhibition: Perth’s best-emerging artist – ‘First Look’ Buratti Gallery, Subiaco, WA
2019 Selected Display: Pan Pacific Hotel Perth, WA
AWARDS
2021 Finalist Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, WA
2020 3D Sculpture Award: South Perth Emerging Artist Award. ‘Leave No Trace’
2020 Western Australian Sculptor Scholarship: Sculpture By The Sea, Cottesloe, WA.
2020 Finalist Sculpture at Bathers, Fremantle, WA
2020 Finalist Sculpture By The Sea, Cottesloe, WA
2019 Finalist Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi, NSW
2019 Staff Choice award: Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi, NSW. “2030”
2019 John McGrath MLA, City of South Perth Resident Award “In The Midst Of Chaos”
2019 & 2018 Finalist Sculpture On The Scarp, Darlington, WA
2019 Finalist Sculpture for Clyde, Batemans Bay, NSW
2018 People’s Choice award: Sculpture On The Scarp, Darlington, WA “Fragmented Nostalgia”
COLLECTIONS
2021 ‘Breaking through’: Brookfield Properties – South 32 Skyscraper, Perth , WA
2020 ‘Fragmented Nostalgia’: Private Collection, Sydney , NSW
2020 ‘2030’: Private Collection, Perth , WA
2019 ‘En Masse’: Hale School, Wembley Downs , WA
2017 ‘Silver Princess’: Private Collection, Yarra Valley , Vic