A Bit of Me
My name is Tricia Sham!
I am a Surreal & Figurative mixed media artist
based in Florida.
In 2016, I was accepted into my high school’s Visual Arts department where I realized I feared a future without creating art & doing anything but being surrounded by it.
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As the years grew, the more fluid & abstract my work became. Likely, influenced by my early fascination with photographing & painting water. I also found myself steering away from realistic work into the surreal, which lead me to discover the art of vulnerable conversations & to witness the powerful realizations viewers experience when taking moments to look beyond a glancing gaze.
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Inspiration
I think we all find reassurance and strength in connecting with someone or something that shares similar experiences, knowing we're not alone. For me, I find this connection by observing and studying insects. Through this research, I continue to realize we’re one in the same. Thus, their traits & behaviors become one with my figures, embodying each insect's essence. While insects may not capture everyone's attention, that's exactly what draws me to them. They’re often overlooked underdogs, offering beautiful insight to those who slow down & take in the micro world around them.​
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Plants and insects often have their own protective mechanisms, which I incorporate as "accessories" on my figures. Elephant leaves, for example, frequently appear as helmets, hats, or shields. Their delicate yet durable nature eludes to the alluring duality between sensitivity and strength.
Bio
Tricia Sham (b. 1999, Cape Coral, Florida) is a Tampa-based abstract figurative and surrealist multidisciplinary artist working primarily with mixed media acrylic paintings on canvas and mixed media colored pencil drawings on matboard. Best known for her vibrant and textured acrylic paintings, Sham explores symbolic links between insect behavior and human experiences, drawing on rich visual and metaphorical language to provoke introspection and empathy.
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Sham’s subject matter centers on hybrid figures that embody both insect and human characteristics, offering a surreal commentary on our shared vulnerability and resilience. Her work is characterized by dynamic postures, lush natural elements such as leaves, and dreamlike, often uncanny environments. Through projects like Abject (2022)—a pivotal mixed media drawing inspired by a photo book she created during her studies at the University of South Florida—Sham began developing her thematic focus on the interconnectedness between humans and nature. Her ongoing series, Stay Watered (2022–present), extends this relationship, using self-referential imagery from earlier photographic works to explore the mental and emotional growth that comes from looking after oneself, particularly within the pressures of contemporary life.
Tricia Sham’s work has been exhibited at The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida; Red Dot Art Fair in Miami, Florida; and in the Rays Artist Series 2023 at Tropicana Field through Creative Pinellas and the Rays Baseball Team. Her art is held in the collection of the Haegeumgang Theme Museum, acquired during the 11th Geoje International Art Festival in South Korea. She has also participated in live painting at the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in Tampa, Florida, and is the recipient of the 2024 Professional Development for Artists Grant awarded by the Hillsborough Arts Council.
Contact
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