Portsmouth, NH Thursday, March 19, 2026— 3S Artspace is pleased to announce its immersive spring exhibition Of All the Worlds We Could Have Dreamed with works by artist Sam Modder that transform the Gallery into a monumental, story-driven environment. On view April 3 through May 31, 2026, the exhibition will open with a public reception and opportunity to meet the artist on Friday, April 3 from 5 - 8 PM.
Through large-scale, digitally manipulated ballpoint pen drawings installed as murals, Modder reshapes the space into a world that is at once fantastical, intimate, and deeply reflective of contemporary life.
“Sam Modder’s work feels like stepping into a fairytale drawn in ballpoint pen and then blown up to the scale of a building,” said Beth Falconer, Executive Director of 3S Artspace. “She creates expansive murals that completely reshape the space. Inside, a single character, and her alter-egos, move through a world that is both dreamscape and testing ground.”
Working across pen, collage, and digital media, Modder begins her artistic process with large, labor-intensive ballpoint pen drawings.
“The ballpoint pen drawings are usually larger than life in size,” Sam Modder said. “I scan the drawings at high resolution and then collage them together in the final composition. The process of digital collaging allows me to duplicate and warp some of the drawings.”
The final compositions are printed on adhesive paper and installed piece by piece, creating murals designed in direct response to the space.
“I print out the final piece on sheets of 3-foot-wide adhesive paper and install it like a puzzle. “The work is site specific, existing for the Gallery space,” said Modder.
At the core of the exhibition is a speculative narrative in which a Black woman escapes her reality into a world populated entirely by versions of herself: her body, her hair, her belongings. The result is a space that feels both liberating and uncanny, operating with the logic of a dream.
“You’re not really sure if the character is dreaming or in another reality entirely,” Modder said. “Either way, the characters aren’t shocked at anything strange that happens. They just go about engaging with the world they find themselves in.”
This world originates from a simple but surreal premise: a woman who discovers she has grown another being from her own hair, prompting her to step into a new, self-contained reality. From there, the work unfolds as allegory for contemporary life, grappling with interlocking structures of power, exploitation, and resistance while making room for rest and self-definition.
The exhibition features two interconnected works, Mountain of Rest and A Field of Lost Hair Ties, presented as a seamless visual and narrative environment.
“They’re designed to feel like chapters in the same story,” Modder said.
At the center, a mountain peak becomes a natural focal point, where the protagonist encounters the figure grown from her hair in a moment of quiet reflection. It is here that the exhibition’s title emerges: “Of all the worlds we could have dreamed, why had we chosen this?”
Modder situates her practice within the speculative framework of the Black imaginary, centering Black dreams and alternate worlds as spaces for both comfort and confrontation. Throughout the work, Black hair becomes a central protagonist. Curls, coils, and defiant forms shape the landscape and drive the narrative forward.
With the works towering above the viewer, the installation invites a return to a sense of childhood wonder and possibility.
“That you would, in the best of ways, feel small and open, ready and willing to hear one more story,” Modder said.
Sam Modder (b. 1995, Lagos) is a Nigerian-Sri Lankan artist based in Tampa, Florida. She received a BA in Studio Art and Engineering from Dartmouth College and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and Design at the University of Tampa.
Exhibition Details
Of All the Worlds We Could Have Dreamed
Artist: Sam Modder
On view: April 3 - May 31, 2026
Opening Reception / Meet the Artist: Friday, April 3, 5 - 8 PM
Location: 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
Learn more: www.3sarts.org/of-all-the-worlds
The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.
3S Artspace is generously supported by: AC Hotel - Portsmouth, The Kane Company + Tidemark, The Brook Casino, Hotel Thaxter, Katzman Contemporary Projects, ListingTunnel.com, MacEdge, Raka
About 3S Artspace:
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The Gallery at 3S Artspace is an incubator of ideas, facilitator of original content, and is committed to presenting a diverse representation of contemporary visual artists. Each year, the Gallery presents exhibitions that highlight unprecedented innovation across disciplines, celebrate artistic excellence, encourage lively discourse, and foster an unwavering appreciation for the vital role that art plays in our community. 3sarts.org