Samual has shown his work extensively in the Midwest, and has had solo shows in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Taiwan, New York, and New Jersey. His work has also been included in group shows across the US, including galleries in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and most recently at The Hole in Los Angeles. In 2015/16 he was awarded a Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Artists, he was a 2017 recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals Grant in 2021. He was an artist in residence with Moosey Gallery in 2023 and has an upcoming solo show with them in November. He received his BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Stout in 2013 and currently lives and works in St. Paul, MN.
Last we saw this one eyed being was in a twenty-page comic book, in which he woke up, fed his cat, and received an email. In this new body of work he has lost his pet bird, leaving him to alternate between searching for his friend and finding solace in distraction. Seemingly fascinated to the point of transfixed by anything, no matter how mundane, his search often takes a back seat to his short attention span, but even his frivolous endeavors remain shrouded in a vague bird shaped melancholy. However, it is this idea of the search for an important piece that is out of place or something yet to be attained, the toll it can take and the growth it can forge, that is central to Weinberg’s work.
The search for meaning is the beating heart of his cycloptic alien character, who presumably just wants to know why he is here and where he comes from, and if he can find happiness regardless of the inquiry’s result. So, although his bird has gone missing, the narrative is left purposefully loose, allowing for him to wonder over his purpose and place in a confusing world, which in turn presents the opportunity for us to use him as an avatar in wondering over our own.
