Ram Samoch - The Metal Bark series. Interview by talk.drawing

Tell us about yourself and your artist background? 

I am a multidisciplinary artist, whose practice is divided mostly between drawing and performance, exploring each as both a physical act and a conceptual language. My background is rooted in traditional draftsmanship, but over time I’ve expanded into experimental processes that challenge the boundaries of mark-making and the presence of the body. I’m particularly interested in how time, repetition, and material resistance shape an image or action. Working with metalpoint has allowed me to slow the process down and engage more directly with surface, gesture, and duration. Across both drawing and performance, my work reflects a dialogue between control and unpredictability, where each piece becomes a record of intention, presence, and discovery. In this interview, I will focus on my metalpoint work.

 

Why do you draw? 

I draw as a way of thinking and being present. It allows me to slow down, to observe more carefully, and to engage in a direct dialogue between my body, the material, and time. Drawing is not only about producing an image, but also about entering a state where repetition, focus, and subtle shifts become meaningful. It gives form to processes that are often invisible-attention, duration, and change. Within my broader practice, drawing also connects closely to performance, as both involve action, endurance, and the trace of a lived moment. Ultimately, I draw to explore what emerges when control meets uncertainty.

 

What medium/s do you choose to draw with and why? 

I primarily work with metalpoint, alongside other minimal and time-based drawing tools. I use metalpoint on mineral and stone paper, drawn to their durability, smooth resistance, and subtle responsiveness to pressure, where I have developed a unique 3D drawing technique. I also incorporate a drill into my process, extending mark-making into vibration, force, and unpredictability. Metalpoint draws me in for its precision and resistance - it demands patience, discipline, and sensitivity to surface. Marks cannot be erased, so each gesture carries weight and permanence, connecting to my interest in duration, accumulation, and the tension between control and unpredictability. More broadly, I choose mediums that slow the process and heighten awareness, keeping the act of drawing present within the work.

 

Any advice for someone wanting to learn/start drawing or for drawing artists at the start of their career? 

Start by drawing regularly and without overthinking the outcome - consistency matters more than perfection. Allow yourself time to develop sensitivity to materials and process. Be patient, as drawing is a slow form of understanding. At the same time, stay open to experimentation and to questioning your own habits. For emerging artists, it’s important to trust your direction while remaining critical and curious, and to see drawing not just as a skill, but also as a way of thinking and engaging with the world.

 

Is there anything else you would like to say, share or promote? 

I’d like to share my recent series, Metal Barks, where I explore a shift from more abstract imagery toward closer observation of nature, using metalpoint in a spatial, almost sculptural way that expands drawing into three dimensions. The works were presented in several exhibitions last year and will continue to be shown in upcoming exhibitions this year - stay tuned for more.

Image 1: Metal Oak Bark, 2025. 3D metalpoint drawing on stone paper.

Image 2: Metal Elm Bark 1, 2025. 3D metalpoint drawing on mineral paper.

Image 3: Metal Elm Bark 2, 2025. 3D metalpoint drawing on mineral paper.

Image 4: Metal Elm Bark 3, 2025. 3D metalpoint drawing on mineral paper.

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Pinterest - Ram Samocha - 3D Metalpoint Drawings

Ram Samoch - 3D Metalpoint Works. Interview by Asano Saki.

AS: First, this is a basic question, when was the first time you used metalpoint and what made you interested in metalpoint? 

RS: I was familiar with this drawing technique, as it was used by the old masters. However, I first experimented with metalpoint only after graduating from my MFA program in Canada in 2009. One day, I accidentally came across a silverpoint drawing stick in an art store. After learning more about its capabilities, I decided to take it back to my studio and conduct some experiments. This led me to create my first series of silverpoint drawings on prepared paper.

AS: And why do you choose metalpoint in the modern era?

RS: I was excited to discover an alternative to drawing with graphite, which is so widely used today. What fascinates me about metalpoint is the permanence of its marks - it is very difficult to erase, requiring a higher level of concentration and intention when making each stroke. There is no way back, no way to undo a mark once it is on the paper, which makes the drawing process more deliberate. This approach is entirely different from what we were taught in art school, and I appreciate it for that reason. Also, my great-grandfather was a metalsmith, so in a way, I feel like I am continuing his legacy by working with metal in a different, modern way.

AS: You describe yourself, as a multidisciplinary artist in your profile, is there a difference in expressiveness between various media and metalpoint?

RS: Yes, absolutely. As a performance artist, I focus on the process, and metalpoint aligns with this approach because the work is constantly evolving. The different metals used in metalpoint can oxidize over time, subtly altering the colour of the original lines. Additionally, drawing with metal slows down the process, making it more physical and deeply connected to the body - an aspect I find particularly engaging.

AS: Compared to the typical metalpoint style, your works are three-dimensional and really impact. Can you tell me the source of that idea?

RS: In my work, I often blend modern and traditional drawing techniques while exploring new ways to bridge two and three-dimensional forms. It felt natural to push the boundaries of such an old and traditional technique, finding innovative ways to work with metalpoint. I also enjoy merging figurative and abstract elements, creating a unique visual language that expands the possibilities of this medium.

AS: You are drawing on stone paper (TerraSkin − I couldn't find a seller in Japan), but how did you notice that the lines appear 3D?

RS: Around the same time I discovered silverpoint, I also came across stone paper in a different art store. This paper, made from compressed limestone dust without any water content, turned out to be an excellent surface for metalpoint drawing. As a performance artist, I am always driven to explore the boundaries of materials and techniques. While experimenting with stone paper, I noticed that prolonged drawing and the heat generated by my marks caused the paper to stretch and distort. This unexpected reaction led me to develop and refine my unique technique. Over time, I further expanded on this approach by incorporating a drill into my metalpoint work on stone paper.

AS: If possible, please tell me your favourite metal as a metalpoint and the reason why.

RS: I often work with silver and silver solder because they create bold lines and do not change colour drastically over time. However, I also enjoy working with gold, as it produces delicate, shiny light gray marks that add a unique subtlety to the drawing.

AS: How do you store completed metal point works? I often struggle with the copper lines becoming faint.

RS: Storing metalpoint works, especially three-dimensional ones, is always a challenge. Yes, copper and brass lines can fade over time, but I sometimes embrace these natural changes in the drawings. In some cases, I even revisit older works, reworking them in new ways to give them a fresh perspective.

Asano Saki is an artist and a graduate student at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He is conducting research on metalpoint techniques at The Art Doctoral Programs, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Ram Samocha is a multidisciplinary artist, presently residing in Brighton, UK. He holds an M.F.A from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Samocha’s work is part of various museum and private collections and has been shown in the United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Seven Years / Ram Samocha

Dear All

I am happy to announce here about my upcoming new solo show in Israel. A mini-retrospective of the works I created at the last seven years in Canada. Attach is the invitation for the exhibition and for my next new drawing performance.

I would love to see you there with me. Ram

e-mail interview

Tehila Zigman and Ram Samocha: e-mail interview, 2010










Is there a difference between drawings created through the performance art process and those created in the studio?

The way I see it, the underlying energy is the same. However, since the process of creation is briefer in the context of performance art than work made in the studio, the resulting artwork also differs. The encounter with a live audience raises expectations on both ends and sometimes influences or guides the drawing in a new direction.

Is the process or activity itself the purpose of the performance, and the artwork merely a byproduct? Or is the creation of the drawing the purpose of the performance?

That depends on the piece, but usually both elements are intertwined and taken into consideration before the performative process begins. The physical process of line-making is an important part of my research, but it is not the aim of focus of the artwork; each line is laid down with purpose to create a consciously predetermined image.

What is the role of the audience’s in your performances? Do you consider your process to be performative even when you are working alone?

I always consider my process to be perfomative. When I lack a live audience, I consider the video camera to be a substitute. However, having an audience alters the atmosphere and experience—the resulting artwork is inevitably different as well. For example, sometimes the audience takes part in the creation or interacts and that creates a product completely different from a solitary performance in front of a camera lens.

















Do you use props that are created or constructed especially for the performance?

Usually I try to explore the extent of what my body alone enables me to do. However, sometimes I use additional equipment. Regardless of what I choose to do, there is always a connection to the body and to its capabilities and limitations. Sometimes I use a ladder, a large chalk or a long paintbrush. Other times I consciously explore the reach of my body. For example, I have purposely hung the canvas higher than usual so that I had to strain to reach it to see how that affected the work.

Does the planning involved in performance art impact the creation of the drawing? Do you limit the duration of the performative process?

Yes, planning the performance has significant impact on my creative process. Though randomness is an element in my work, it does not play a crucial role. The length of the performance varies with each piece. I’ve done performances that lasted 30 minutes, while others lasted an entire day if not several days. I do always plan the duration in advance.

How does the idea and phsyciality of the body impact your work? What intrigues you about the presence of the body in your creative process?

I was always intrigued by how the artist decides to leave or to design his marks. By working with the body I explore myself, my capabilities and the time that passes as I create. The element of time goes hand in hand with physical movement and the body in my creations. Initially I looked for ways to capture and retain the figure in the final work, but I gradually realized that what mattered most to me was how the physicality hints at a corporeal presence: first, because it actively enhances the connection with the viewer; and second, because my body becomes the essence of the creation—the drawing is linked to my body through the immediacy of creation. The sketch and the body become one.

How does the process of filming and documentation take place? Can performance art exist without documentation?

Generally, performance art can exist without filming, but then it is captured solely by the people who actually saw it take place. Filming allows performance art to be transported into a different place or, more accurately, to a different medium. The filming process is separate from the performance itself—the documentation becomes an independent work of art that can also be used as a tool. I either film myself or let a videographer film me. Even when the performance includes an audience, I always insist on filmed documentation. In one of my recent works I chose to film the creation, destruction and then recreation of an exhibit and then I showed the documentation next to its final product, which exposed something entirely different than I could have created through the documentation process or mere recollection alone.

From Scratch - Metalpoint drawings

By Jane Buyers

The work of art is an ordered world of its own kind in which we are aware, at every point, of its becoming. Meyer Shapiro [i]
There is no way to make a drawing-there is only drawing. Richard Serra [ii]

















Ram Samocha’s work has foregrounded drawing for a number of years - drawing of a very physical kind, prominently featuring a frenetic layering of lines that serves to trace a history of performative gestures over time. In fact he has also engaged quite literally in the act of drawing through physically demanding drawing performances.

Samocha has always freely experimented with a variety of materials, processes, media and forms of representation. In his latest body of work From Scratch, Samocha is exploring the medium of metalpoint, which may seem at first to be a surprising choice for an artist so focused on gesture. Using metal to inscribe lines is an ancient practice. However, for most of us, if we have any knowledge of it at all, it is likely as a reference to a mysterious process from the early Renaissance known as silverpoint, associated mostly with artists engaged in very fine-lined, highly-detailed, labour-intensive work such as Albrecht Dürer . The decision to use such an out-moded technique is reminiscent of Jasper Johns’ resuscitation of encaustic. While it might at first seem eccentric and contrary, the resultant work shows that the choice is firmly based on the artist’s sense of his primary material interests and requirements.

Using metalpoint slows down the act of drawing - the hectic pace of now is replaced by a slower tempo from another time. But every mark made by the metal is an uncompromising feature on the paper - an almost sculptural presence that can never be removed. In Samocha’s words - “There is no way back.” In some of the works, such as the Heavy Duty drawings (2011), the paper has buckled and heaved under the weight of accumulated metal markings, becoming a kind of contour map. In others, the repetitious scarring of the surface has resulted in the paper giving way in some parts, tearing and splitting like skin. The insistent materiality of the working process and the hardness of the materials seem more akin to sculpture than drawing, including the paper Samocha uses, which is manufactured from limestone dust.
The metals employed in the work of From Scratch suggest an alchemist’s laboratory: silver, copper, bronze, gold. As the metals will continue to oxidize, changing colour in unpredictable ways over time, the finished drawing is only the beginning, not the end of the alchemical process. The notion of “finished” in the case of this work is provisional and once again the emphasis returns to the performative. It is as though the drawing itself takes up the performance at the point where the drawer has left off.

That drawing for Samocha is first and foremost a tactile, embodied experience links his work with graffiti art as gestural statement. Making a mark says “I am here”. Graffiti’s meshing of word and image into one indivisible sign also connects with Samocha’s long standing interest in orthography. Every line tells a story. The Cursive Hebrew Alphabet drawings (2010-11) were partially inspired by observing his daughter Alma‘s first attempts at writing through repetitious drawing of Hebrew and English letters. The accumulation of gesture and effort with metalpoint, in contrast to most drawing media, does not result in an increasing shift to darkness. The silverpoint lines obsessively tracing out the same shapes in Cursive Hebrew Alphabet remain stubbornly grey. This grey alphabet brings to mind Jasper Johns’ repeated use of alphabets and numbers (often grey), a connection made again with the numbers in Samocha’s most recent video Body Count (2011), in which he performs the drawing of 0 through 9 and 9 through 0.

One of Samocha’s favourite art works is Rembrandt’s etching The Shell (1650), a copy of which he has on his studio wall. This small print is one of the very few still-life works Rembrandt ever did. In 1998, Samocha produced a painting based on The Shell, employing the flat, clearly- delineated, precise manner of his work at the time. The painting, titled Home, emphasizes the graphic shapes and pattern of the mollusc shell, omitting any reference to the gestural lines of the original. Now, in Samocha’s new metalpoint drawings, the vocabulary of Rembrandt’s etching- scratches and incisions on a copper plate- have found a home.

The expression “from scratch” was new to Samocha, something he learned in Canada. “From scratch” brings to mind both “starting from scratch and “made from scratch”, pertinent references to Samocha’s experiences of starting a new life in a new country as an immigrant and as well as to the births of his two daughters . From Scratch offers poignant meditations on time, identity and signification. Samocha has created a powerful synthesis of material, form and gesture in his ongoing, restless search for the point of balance between order and chaos, strength and vulnerability, effort and acceptance.

[i] “Recent Abstract Art” in Selected Papers: Modern Art, 19th and 20th centuries (New York: George Braziller, 1978). P. 219

[ii] Richard Serra: Writings, Interviews (Chicago: the University of Chicago Press,1994). P. 51. Quoted in Afterimage: Drawing Through Process (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1999) P. 25

Red Roots, 2010

A wall drawing which was made by Ram Samocha during the opening of the group show Time Shift at the Red Head Gallery, Toronto, April 3, 2010.

Time Shift

Peter Dykhuis, Jane Martin, Sam Mogelonshy,
Bill Ralph, Lynn Kelly, and Ram Samocha


March 31 – April 24, 2010

Red Head Gallery
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 115, Toronto, Canada, M5V 3A8
Tel: 416-504-5654 http://www.redheadgallery.org/

Hours: Wed – Sat 12 - 5pm
Opening: Saturday, Saturday, April 3, 2:00 and 5:00pm
Drawing Performance by Ram Samocha: Saturday, April 3, between 3:00 and 4:00pm

The Red Head Gallery's new group show Time Shift plays with our perception of time by reiterating and re-establishing moments within a continuum of styles, perspectives and artists. Jane Martin's eight colour photographs, Jane's Nose, are portraits of the artist pivoting around her nose, resetting and shifting time for the viewer; while Peter Dykhuis, in Time and Money, collages together the "to do" lists from his domestic and professional life with envelopes addressed to him from financial institutions that are overpainted with pertinent Google Earth maps. In this, time is a memory that is shifted by reassembling these written reminders and reiterating them. Sam Mogelonshy's shifts our perceptions of time in a series of sculptures, My Second Archipelago, in which hypothetical stories evolve from disused typewriters to become both utopian and dystopian islands; while Bill Ralph alters chaotic dynamical systems in Encosion to shift and re-shift our perceptions of a mathematical and metaphysical world through time and space. Time shifting allows us to experience events outside the constraints of time as in Ram Samocha's Red Drawings series which are made with layers of red transparent tape on gray paper. Created in Israel they are a reflection of the intense reality of ongoing conflict and struggle. In Life Cycles, Lynn Kelly uses various elements of trees to reference the cycles of life; biological concepts of growth and decay, re-growth and rebirth are juxtaposed with birth, death, migration, and relocation on our quickly evolving planet. Time Shift grapples with the momentous and fractious elements of repetition and time, recorded events that can be forgotten easily if they are not observed, transcribed, and transformed by these artists.