Samantha Joy Groff

"Prophecy of the End is a new body of work that investigates rituals, backwoods exorcisms and prophecies of the end. When the world is dark, the Book of Revelation is applied to the modern day and becomes a guide to the end times. Encapsulating this fear, the female bodies cast out demons, lay on hands in healing rituals, and bodies seem to float up to rapture. On a familiar backdrop of night scenes in woods, the figurative works take inspiration from personal accounts of exorcisms, Pennsylvania Dutch folk healing rituals, and pop culture's depictions of rapture. Bodily contortions, and possession take hold invoking the spirit of apocalyptic text while embodying the realities of living in rural Pennsylvania and the fentanyl crisis. These works evoke the spirit of apocalyptic texts while also reflecting the stark realities faced in rural Pennsylvania, particularly in the context of the fentanyl crisis. The paintings invite viewers to question whether these portrayals are true exorcisms or representations of human dissociation in the face of suffering. Prophecy of the End hopes to engage on the intersection of faith, trauma, and desire for another world…"

—Samantha Joy Groff

Prophecy of the End is Groff’s second solo exhibition with Nicodim and her first with the gallery in New York.

Samantha Joy Groff (b. 1993, Pennsylvania) received her MFA from Yale School of Art and earned a dual undergraduate degree from Parsons School of Design in integrated fashion design and film studies. Exhibitions include Prophecy of the End, Nicodim, New York (2024, solo, forthcoming); The Ballad of the Children on the Czar, Galeria Nicodim, Bucharest (2024); Huntress, Half Gallery, Los Angeles (2024, solo); Samantha Joy Groff, Devin B. Johnson, Katherina Olschbaur, Nicodim, New York (2023); Dark Pastures, Half Gallery, Los Angeles (2023, solo); Samantha Joy Groff: True Riches, Nicodim Upstairs, Los Angeles (2022, solo); Town Gossip, Martha’s Contemporary, Austin (2022, solo); Stilltsville, Half Gallery, Miami (2022); You Me Me You curated by Rachel Keller, Nicodim, Los Angeles (2022); and Vibrant Matters, Jeffrey Deitch, New York (2022).