The Material World: Samual Elliot Phillips

Phillips' practice is rooted in a deeply personal and politically attuned visual language that fuses classical Americana, punk counterculture, and poetic narrative. Raised in a rural town outside Burlington, Vermont, Phillips began creating as a way to process the emotional terrain of childhood. Through drawing and writing, he developed a unique aesthetic sensibility informed by both historical fantasy and lived experience.

Over the years, this has evolved into a semi-political, improvisational approach-marked by his use of humble materials and expressive immediacy. In The Material World, Phillips treats the canvas as a space for both rebellion and reflection. The coarse texture of charcoal, punctuated by stripped-back hues and inkjet-transferred fragments, gives each work a raw and urgent presence. These are not polished statements but instinctual impressions-honest, direct, and unflinching.

His compositions resist grand interpretation, instead confronting the viewer with pared-down, defiant imagery. This use of "practice" materials on a finished scale signals a quiet act of resistance-an embrace of imperfection as a form of clarity. The exhibition draws attention to Phillips' unique ability to collapse memory, identity, and national mythology into works that feel at once deeply personal and universally resonant.

The Material World is presented exclusively online, offering international audiences the opportunity to engage with Phillips' newest series across digital platforms. The exhibition is accessible at allgorithim.com and on Artsy.