Samuel Ross
'HEAVE'
British Caribbean artist and designer Samuel Ross creates works in a range of media through an exploratory analysis of raw material and functionality. In 2015, Ross founded the fashion label A-COLD-WALL*, rethinking streetwear through meticulous construction and bold, Brutalist silhouettes. In 2019, he established SR_A SR_A, an atelier that engineers experiences for the body and mind, balancing a utilitarian sensibility with an eye toward the future. The artist’s industrial aesthetic has manifested both in his own work and in collaborations with major brands including LVMH, Nike, and Apple.
In HEAVE, Ross presents several distinct but connected bodies of work, anchored by two of his rarely shown abstract paintings. Sculptural seating exemplifies the artist’s insatiable curiosity for the potential and limits of material, exploring the intersections of Eurocentric Modernist forms and West African furniture design. Four hand-painted utility jackets showcase the overlapping of Ross’ intuitive mark-making and functional forms, while gestural process sketches representing each of the disciplines presented in the exhibition offer viewers further insight into his multifaceted creative process.
British Caribbean artist and designer Samuel Ross creates works in a range of media through an exploratory analysis of raw material and functionality. In 2015, Ross founded the fashion label A-COLD-WALL*, rethinking streetwear through meticulous construction and bold, Brutalist silhouettes. In 2019, he established SR_A SR_A, an atelier that engineers experiences for the body and mind, balancing a utilitarian sensibility with an eye toward the future. The artist’s industrial aesthetic has manifested both in his own work and in collaborations with major brands including LVMH, Nike, and Apple.
In HEAVE, Ross presents several distinct but connected bodies of work, anchored by two of his rarely shown abstract paintings. Sculptural seating exemplifies the artist’s insatiable curiosity for the potential and limits of material, exploring the intersections of Eurocentric Modernist forms and West African furniture design. Four hand-painted utility jackets showcase the overlapping of Ross’ intuitive mark-making and functional forms, while gestural process sketches representing each of the disciplines presented in the exhibition offer viewers further insight into his multifaceted creative process.
About the artist
Samuel Ross, Ph.D., MBE (b. 1991, London; lives and works in London) is a British designer and artist best known for founding the menswear fashion label A-COLD-WALL* and the industrial design studio SR_A SR_A, as well as for his work with the late designer Virgil Abloh (1980–2021). Ross first trained in graphic illustration before pursuing product design and interdisciplinary projects. He has presented solo exhibitions at White Cube, London, and Friedman Benda, New York, among others. His work is held in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Ross has collaborated with global brands including LVMH, Nike, and Apple to create innovative wearable objects. He was named the British Fashion Awards’ Emerging Menswear Designer in 2018 and received the Hublot Design Prize in 2019. He was honored with the GQ Fashion Award in 2020 and a People of the Year British Fashion Award in 2021. Ross is the founder of the Black British Artist Grants Programme, connecting the next generation of talent with funding and global institutions. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2024.
Credits
HEAVE is organized by SCAD Museum of Art curator Ben Tollefson and presented as part of SCAD deFINE ART 2025.
