FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2026

Samara Couri unveils a new body of work for The CAMP Gallery as Artist in Residence

Samara Couri, (Left): Descendant of Nature, 2026, Oil on Canvas, 30 × 24 in. (Right): Inseparable Forces, 2026, Oil on Canvas, 30 × 24 in.

Miami, FL – Honolulu-based artist Samara Couri unveils ten new paintings that explore the profound sense of kinship between people and the landscapes of Hawaiʻi. The new body of work was created during Couri’s six-month Artist-in-Residence program with CAMP Gallery, the contemporary art gallery in Miami led by Melanie Prapopoulos.

Known for her expressive figurative paintings that examine humanity’s innate interconnectedness, Couri’s latest works deepen her ongoing exploration of place, community, and belonging. Inspired by her life and practice in Honolulu, the series reflects her relationship with the mountains, ocean, and native flora that shape her daily experience. Working across varying scales and materials, Couri presents the collection on both traditional canvas and flowing curtains, expanding the physical and conceptual relationship between the figure and the landscape.

Throughout the series, Couri explores the inseparable relationship between the Kanaka (people) and the ʻĀina (land), expressing the understanding that one cannot exist without the other. Her figures emerge from and dissolve into beaches, volcanic landscapes, forests, waterfalls, and the ocean, evoking a world in which people and place are inseparable. The continual merging of human and natural forms affirms the belief that the Kanaka and the ʻĀina are not distinct entities, but parts of the same living whole; a connection that cannot be broken, diminished, or erased.

“Ultimately, this series is an affirmation of Indigenous endurance and belonging. It speaks to the strength, resilience, and continued presence of Native Hawaiians on these islands,” says Couri. “These works are not only representations of people within a landscape, but declarations that the people are the landscape. Hawaiʻi cannot be separated from its people, just as its people cannot be separated from the land that continues to sustain, remember, and live through them.”

Couri is participating in CAMP Gallery’s Artist in Residence program that elevates artists through their online platforms, allowing their works to be viewed on both an intimate and international scale. 

About Samara Couri

Samara Couri, a contemporary painter, is best known for her introspective, figurative paintings which actively immerse the viewer into the piece. Couri is originally from London where she obtained her degree in Fine Art from City and Guilds London Art School. She has exhibited in many galleries around the world. Currently residing in Hawaii, she is deep into learning the culture, history, language and philosophy of the Hawaiian people and the islands, which is reflected in her current body of work. 

Couri’s work usually is to reflect a part of our global community. It is an invitation for people to explore themselves in order to explore others, to have a safe space to be and see what you wish to see. This space has no judgement, it is between you and the art work, which can transform into a search and discovery of the human soul.

About CAMP Gallery

The Contemporary Art Modern Project (CAMP) is a contemporary art gallery dedicated to raising awareness for emerging and mid-career artists with a unique emphasis on ultra-contemporary approaches to textiles and fiber art. Founded during the height of the pandemic by Melanie Prapopoulos, the gallery has gone on to create a distinctly academic and thought-provoking arts program in North Miami, and beyond. As a gallery, The CAMP remains steadfast in transparency both for the artist and for the collector, building bridges and connections from  creation to acquisition. With a robust local and international roster, the gallery represents artists working in textiles and fiber, painting, photography, sculpture, and installation. Looking at art, as a whole, through a reactionary and interdisciplinary approach, the gallery operates as a space wherein creativity and reality co-exist. 

The CAMP Gallery is best known for its annual legacy exhibition, Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse. The 2020 edition of the series, known as “The Flag Show” has travelled to two museums since its inauguration, MoCA Connecticut and the Jewish Museum of Milwaukee.