BELLEVUE BULLETIN
Bellevue, Washington
1978

Karen Hurd

( Edited Transcript)

The Curious Worlds of Ben Sams

Entering Ben Sams' exhibit at the Gail Chase Gallery in Bellevue is like stepping into another world--a world of disjointed anatomies, alive, piercing eyes and serpentine creepiness.  It is a world with a fine line between delight a sort of awed revulsion.  It is Ben Sams’ world. Sams, who has gained a national reputation for his phantasmagorical sculpture, is showing the result of years of painstaking work, of molding incredibly intricate and detailed forms with his hands and creating his own astonishingly beautiful glazes.

His work is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch, only in three dimensions. A typical Sams drinking mug may incorporate dozens of eyes, ears, noses, and appendages of men, animals, and reptilian creatures. . . .

The life size sculptures are the most haunting pieces of the exhibit. Each emits an energy and unique character, asserting s strong presence in the room.  It is not difficult to imagine a conversation with one.

Sams has mastered his art to the point that the viewer can almost forget the virtuosity of his work and see only its fantastic result. . . . .

Since then, he has exhibited in dozens of galleries in the West, been written about in Time Magazine and Crafts Horizon and taught many a ceramic and sculpture class. . . . but he does seem to have accepted that, through talent and pure determination, he has become what most people would call 'a serious artist.'