Sam Bornstein’s paintings invent worlds by merging memory, observation and the imaginary into highly physical narratives. The artist’s compositions use both luminous and muted light to depict a variety of characters drawn from the painter's life, folklore, media and the collective imagination. Bornstein’s draws from a wide variety of influences: the artist’s upbringing in New York City and his background in music and film; the graphic arts; American esoteric and psychedelic traditions; Ashkenazi storytelling; and the artist’s frequent travels to study Postwar European painting in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe.