Sam Kaprielov (b. 1971 in Ventspils, Latvia) is a contemporary artist whose practice explores identity, memory, and the fragile boundaries between the real and the fantastical. Based in London, he is known for his dense, atmospheric pastel drawings, where child pirates, wartime imagery, sea creatures, and allegorical figures collide in scenes that reflect the perpetual battles of everyday life.
Trained in a Soviet art school, Kaprielov brings a refined command of European visual traditions, particularly commercial and propaganda illustration, to his deeply personal worlds, often tinged with a noir atmosphere. His “Felliniesque misfits,” as he calls them, emerge from an intuitive process inspired by “napkins, portholes, turtles, bunkers, desert… anything,” while at the same time referring to “nothing outside of themselves.” Each drawing functions like a discarded frame from an imagined film, revealing a smoky, shifting psychological landscape.
Kaprielov has exhibited widely across Europe, with a particularly strong presence in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and France. Notable projects include the Shore Leave exhibition in London in 2009 and his participation in Vous avez dit bizarre in Paris in 2020. His work often resonates with the cultural and historical contexts of the places where it is presented, while remaining anchored in his Latvian heritage and lived experience.