sam colt curriulum vitae
EXHIBITIONS:
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Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne VT ~ exhibiting since 2018
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Main Street Gallery, Manasquan, NJ ~ exhibiting since 2018
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Glimpse Gallery, Concord, NH ~ currently exhibiting
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The Looms, Nantucket, MA ~ 2023
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J. Langdon Gallery, Montpelier, VT ~ 2019
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The Front Gallery, Montpelier, VT ~ member 2016-2018
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Kent Museum, Calais, VT ~ 2017
I’m an artist by trade.
In my youth I apprenticed with artists and studied at decorative art studios in Boston and NYC where I started my own firm, Coltworks Inc., which designed and installed Venetian Plaster finishes for ten years.
In 2006 I moved back to Vermont and opened Sam Colt Interiors, which offered residential interior design services along with decorative plaster wall-finishes for ten years.
2016 saw me opening a full-time art studio in Montpelier, Vermont where I make abstract art using Italian marble-based plaster called "grassello", gouache, oils, gold-leaf, and shellac.
The work shows a preoccupation with abstracted mystical architectural places - both urban and rural - along with furling maritime themes. My family history is heavy with conmen, fishermen and mariners who came to tragic ends and whenever I am struck by a story, I take it into the studio to make something of it, to give it a visible way out of me and into the world where the inner and out images can converse.
2016– 2025: Opened full-time studio in 2016
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Kent Museum show - 2017
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The Front Gallery, Montpelier, VT - member two years
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Furchgott-Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne, VT since 2017
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Main Street Gallery, Manasquan, NJ since 2017
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Mural installed in the Savoy Theater in 2018.
2007 - 2017 Designed and installed Artisan Plaster jobs, Vermont & NY
Vermont Vernacular, Wilson Architects, The Design Guild, Montpelier Construction, Thunder Mill Design, Clar Construction
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2003 - 2007 Founder & Creative Director of Coltworks Inc. New York, New York
Designed and installed decorative plaster veneer finishes for architectural and design firms of repute in NYC, privately held corporate headquarters in Manhattan including Rolex, EMI Records and WebMD, and high-end residences in NYC, The Hamptons, Westchester County, Boston, Bal Harbor, Palm Beach & San Francisco.
2001 - 2003 Creative Director of DFB Sales, Long Island City, New York
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Established and managed the studio & created samples, prepared job-site materials, trained installers, and documented procedural protocols for efficient project execution.
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Introduced finishes to Architectural & Design firms throughout NYC
Directed installation teams, maintained quality control, and generated custom samples to support sales efforts. Served as a product presenter and liaison between sales teams and A&D firms and acted as foreman, instruction and installer.
Jobsites included Rolex, Emi Records and high-end residential installations.
1999-2001 Partnered with Re-Creations Studio in NYC
Design, present, and install custom decorative paint finishes in NYC.
1997–1999 Freelance Decorative Paint and Plaster Design & Installation
Design, present, and install decorative paint, artisan plasters and murals as freelance operator in NYC.
EDUCATION:
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1995-2025: Studied the art of - and now collaborate with - artist David B. Wiggins
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1992-1999 Studied at The Isabel O’Neil Studio for the Art of the Decorative Finish, NYC
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1997-2000 Studied at The Finishing School, Long Island City, New York
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1987–1990 Apprenticed with Mari Quirk at Associated Quirks in Boston, MA, learning set and backdrop production, decorative painting and set-propping
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1986 Graduated Union 32 High School after being taught at home for elementary school years