Samara Shuter’s imperfect suits
Samara in her studio. [All photos courtesy Samara Shuter’s Facebook]
Samara grew up in Montreal where her family worked in the textile industry. As a kid she was surrounded by cloth swatches and found her dad’s ties, and guys in general, fascinating. She loved the lines and structure of traditional men’s clothes and would doodle bow ties, collars and lapels for hours. Her obsession was never about portraiture, however, but texture, shape and line.
At Samara’s recent art show “Getting To Know You.”
That’s what first struck me at Samara’s recent exhibit. I could tell, in the detail of every single button, stitch and wrinkle, that she not only knew a lot about tailored clothes, she was evoking something that went beyond fashion and even style. Her subjects are not perfect, the kind of perfection you find in fashion magazines. Here there are deep wrinkles, ties hanging out, cuffs uneven. Exactly as Samara intends. This is a love of the suit as it’s meant to be used – something to be lived in, not hung on a mannequin.
“I try to capture character and movement,” Samara tells me. That’s why she covers up or ignores as much of the skin and face as possible, “so you’re feeling the energy and not the person.” Her subjects are her own friends, because she couldn’t find the movement and angles she wants in fashion spreads. She prefers traditional garments because they are more detailed and interesting, especially looks from the early 20th century.
The other thing that occurred to me as I studied Samara’s work was the symbolism of it all. The suit can be a very charged object, often entangled in our concepts of masculinity and even patriarchy. For Samara, there is certainly a fascination with what the suit means and represents, but she doesn’t have a “statement” about her work. Instead, while she uses her paintings to express her feelings about character, gender, hard work, traditions and individuality, she’d rather people take from her work whatever they wish.
A tension that definitely exists around her paintings, however, is her relationship with the menswear world. Obviously her subject matter is what first caught my eye. And while she is thankful for the attention she’s received from stores and magazines, she sees that world as a springboard, not a destination. In the past her work has been featured in menswear stores but that sort of thing runs the risk of becoming decorative, a slippery slope if she starts being too associated with brands. “Suits are part of who I am,” Samara tells me, “but does every painter who does florals belong in a flower shop?”
Despite the fact that she is not a menswear artist, I wanted to know Samara’s thoughts on men’s style. “I’m drawn to someone more polished than not,” she says. For Samara, someone’s outfit is like a piece of art, an expression, “they can be wearing anything, not just a suit, as long as they took the time and made the effort to express themselves through their look.”
Samara currently has a lot of projects on the go. She is working on two publications: a coffee table book of her work and a colouring book. The latter, featuring her paintings turned into line drawings, ties in to how she started by doodling, and is meant for kids and adults. And she’s in the process of moving her studio to a new space, all while continuing to exhibit her work across Toronto and at art fairs in the US and overseas. And that is excellent, because Samara’s work must be seen in person to be truly appreciated.
More photos and information about Samara are at SamaraShuter.com
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