I am Sam Madigan, a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist with a focus on painting and digital art. Much of my work explores the process of re-entering the world after a period of isolation caused by both uncontrollable factors like the COVID pandemic and my own self-isolating behavior. Some pieces emphasize this seclusion, showing both the complete freedom from social expectations and the self-destructive mental deterioration. Other pieces focus on the process of reconnecting with others in a post-COVID world. Overall, my work is intimately linked to my personal experiences, and I frequently use self-portraiture to portray emotions that I am unable to portray in any other way. I also draw digitally, and the thought process and ideas behind these pieces tends to be different from my paintings. My digital pieces focus on character exploration, specifically on finding a way to portray a character’s personality and narrative arc through an illustration. Overall, I hope to continue to portray authentic human experiences through my work. 

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