19.6.2026 - 26.7.2026

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Samuel Paučo (*1986) is among the notable figures of contemporary painting in both the Czech and Slovak art scenes. His distinctive visual language combines expressive, gestural brushwork with precise cardboard cut-outs, resulting in dynamic and immersive compositions. In his large-scale works, he merges raw abstraction with retrospective elements inspired by the landscapes of his native Zvolen region in central Slovakia.

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Through his expressive yet carefully considered approach and his often thick, almost sculptural layers of paint that seem to emerge from the canvas, Paučo fundamentally challenges traditional notions of landscape painting.

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His work has received several prestigious awards, including the Special Prize for Best Painting at the Malba 2018 competition organized by the VÚB Foundation, as well as the Strabag Recognition Award 2021.

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For SAMO, Paučo presents a series of small-format paintings. Alongside his characteristic earthy palette and richly layered surfaces, the works incorporate references to the most influential Neo-Expressionist artist of the 1980s, Jean-Michel Basquiat. Paučo playfully appropriates Basquiat’s visual motifs and even borrows his famous tag as the title of the exhibition.

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Through the collage-like use of Basquiat’s iconic crown motif, Paučo revisits questions of authorship and the boundaries of contemporary artistic trends while simultaneously paying tribute to the New York legend of the postmodern art scene. The paintings also contain references to other artists, including newspaper clippings and visual quotations that offer viewers multiple possible entry points for interpreting the layered complexity of his works.

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Despite their modest dimensions, these paintings overflow with energy—an energy that is carefully contained within the boundaries of each frame.