Sam Wilde
Visual Artist & Brand Collaborator
A trailblazer dubbed the future of surface design, Sam Wilde is a multidisciplinary British artist redefining the creative industry with his contemporary take on fine art patterns.
A modern-day master of colour and illustration spotlighted as one of this generation’s leading talents. Sam’s award-winning artworks subvert audiences’ expectations with his signature worldbuilding approach to the genre. Breaking the boundaries of traditional surface design with unabashed playfulness and triumphant flair.
Sam is a masters graduate from the Royal College of Art with an approach which encompasses illustration, oil painting, animation, sculpture and large-scale art installations. Citing his personal experience as a synesthete and love for evolutionary biology as his key artistic influences.
A modern-day master of colour and illustration spotlighted as one of this generation’s leading talents. Sam’s award-winning artworks subvert audiences’ expectations with his signature worldbuilding approach to the genre. Breaking the boundaries of traditional surface design with unabashed playfulness and triumphant flair.
Sam is a masters graduate from the Royal College of Art with an approach which encompasses illustration, oil painting, animation, sculpture and large-scale art installations. Citing his personal experience as a synesthete and love for evolutionary biology as his key artistic influences.
Work Experience
Studio Vespertine
Visual Artist & Brand Collaborator
Sam Wilde established Vespertine, the studio through which he consolidates and develops his renowned fine art patterns and contemporary art installations. Fully realised by Sam himself, each artwork embodies his personal vision, from concept to execution. The studio is a trusted, collaborative partner for leading brands, translating Sam’s imaginative vision into bespoke projects that exceed expectations and push the boundaries of creative collaboration.
2018
- 2025
London, United Kingdom
Adobe
Artist Collaboration
The Adobe x Sam Wilde collection launched to coincide with the 2024 Adobe MAX conference in Miami and London. The tessellating artwork Sam illustrated explores the relationship between work and play, combining technical precision with playful imagination to reflect Adobe’s brand values of connection and creativity.
2024
United States
Apple
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde teamed up with Apple on their global Fly Market campaign which reached an audience of over half a billion people. Filmed in Mexico City, the commercial follows a protagonist using the iPhone X’s newest feature Apple Pay to purchase clothes featuring the fine art pattern Precarious Pangolins.
2018
United States
Fortnum & Mason
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde partnered with Fortnum & Mason to create illustrated packaging for a new iced tea version of their signature Assam blend. The artwork draws on Indian tea fields, reimagined with a contemporary flourish that complements the brand’s iconic heritage.
2025
United Kingdom
Liberty
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde collaborated with Liberty and illustrated Vespertine Waves, a fine art pattern capturing the dynamic movement of water inspired by the Edo-period masters. In 2025, the artwork was showcased in Liberty’s 150-year anniversary exhibition I Am. We Are. Liberty curated by Italian art historian Ester Coen.
A second collaboration saw Sam illustrating the fine art patterns Fruits of Labour and Vespertine Chain for the brand's Beauty and Chaos collection. Reflecting the themes of harmony versus discord, Sam's extensive contribution was brought to life across sixteen colourways.
A second collaboration saw Sam illustrating the fine art patterns Fruits of Labour and Vespertine Chain for the brand's Beauty and Chaos collection. Reflecting the themes of harmony versus discord, Sam's extensive contribution was brought to life across sixteen colourways.
2021
- 2023
United Kingdom
Nvidia
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde collaborated with Nvidia to showcase their cutting-edge Canvas technology through an interactive solo exhibition on London’s Oxford Street. The project featured ten original landscapes created by Sam, alongside a public space where visitors could experiment with building their own virtual worlds.
2022
United Kingdom
Rebel Walls
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde created the Newtopia wallpaper collection for Nordic brand Rebel Walls, featuring five hand-painted fine art patterns to transform interior spaces into havens of sanctuary and escapism. The collection’s key artwork Poison Panacea went on to receive a Homes & Gardens Design Award in 2025.
2025
Sweden
Svenskt Tenn
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde collaborated with Svenskt Tenn to create Fruits of Eden, a Christmas collection culminating in the bold textile print Hubris Tree, eight glass baubles and a brass star topper inspired by Hawaiian flowers. The collection was the best-selling Christmas release at this point in the company’s 95-year history.
A second collaboration saw Sam create Flowers of Eden, another record-breaking Christmas collection, this time inspired by founder Estrid Ericson’s love for floral arranging. The collection featured five hand-painted glass baubles and a brass daffodil candle ring, which remains popular with Svenskt Tenn's patrons.
For the third consecutive year Sam created a collection of six handcrafted botanical ornaments for Svenskt Tenn. Inspired by Josef Frank’s philosophy of “bringing the outside in”, this ornate collection remains a key part of the brand’s seasonal offering.
A second collaboration saw Sam create Flowers of Eden, another record-breaking Christmas collection, this time inspired by founder Estrid Ericson’s love for floral arranging. The collection featured five hand-painted glass baubles and a brass daffodil candle ring, which remains popular with Svenskt Tenn's patrons.
For the third consecutive year Sam created a collection of six handcrafted botanical ornaments for Svenskt Tenn. Inspired by Josef Frank’s philosophy of “bringing the outside in”, this ornate collection remains a key part of the brand’s seasonal offering.
2019
- 2022
Sweden
Trixie Mattel
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde collaborated with drag superstar Trixie Mattel to create a personalised fine art pattern reflecting Trixie's key branding. The artwork, which combines coiffed hair and powdered faces in a surreal composition, was printed onto silk and tailored into a one-of-a-kind garment for the drag icon.
2024
United States
Turner Contemporary
Artist Exhibition
Sam Wilde debuted his hand-painted ceramic collection Glasshouse at the Turner Contemporary for the gallery’s 10th anniversary. The fourteen ceramics feature ornate brushwork and vivid swathes of colour, prominently displayed alongside artworks by internationally renowned artists including Dame Tracey Emin.
2022
United Kingdom
V&A
Artist Exhibition
Sam Wilde exhibited Equi–II at the V&A, a participatory installation where visitors placed over one thousand unique wooden Frog Tessellation tiles to form a large-scale, evolving artwork in the museum’s grand hall. The piece engaged large crowds and was the V&A’s first artist collaboration of this nature.
2025
United Kingdom
Young V&A
Artist Exhibition
Sam Wilde was commissioned by the V&A to create an eco-conscious umbrella sculpture for the Young V&A’s first major creative installation, as part of a long-running cultural exchange that was visited by the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The sculpture is fully mechanised and electronically automated to continuously breathe.
2024
United Kingdom
Zoffany
Artist Collaboration
Sam Wilde partnered with Zoffany to launch Precarious Pangolins as a large-scale luxury wallcovering. The collaboration went on to win a British Design Award from Elle Decoration, with sales of the wallcovering supporting pangolin conservation through a donation to the World Land Trust.
Building on this partnership Sam illustrated Fuubutsushi River (commercially known as Eastern Palace) for release as luxury wallpaper and interior fabrics. The expansive fine art pattern visualises Japan’s four main islands across the seasons, blending fantastical elements with historic details.
Building on this partnership Sam illustrated Fuubutsushi River (commercially known as Eastern Palace) for release as luxury wallpaper and interior fabrics. The expansive fine art pattern visualises Japan’s four main islands across the seasons, blending fantastical elements with historic details.
2020
- 2022
United Kingdom
Education
Awards
Press Quotes
Artists & Illustrators Magazine · “Sam’s cross-disciplinary approach is all about creating a space for patterns to come to life, to bring his worlds into your world.”
Blumenhaus · "His colorful, detailed artworks offer a fresh and surprising take on pattern design, turning them into captivating and unique worlds."
Colossal · “Sam Wilde imagines a post-natural future in lurid colour.”
Communication Arts · “Employing natural and unnatural colours, visual metaphors, and uneasy compositions to heighten both the danger and the beauty inherent in our changing world.”
Cover · “Bold, ornate, immersive, fantastical repeat prints based on the natural world.”
Creative Boom · “After quickly making a name for himself in the creative sector, Sam has become a leading new designer.”
Elle Decoration · “Fearless fusion of classical and contemporary.”
Freize · “Surface designs to immerse, empower, engage and educate.”
Homes & Gardens · “British artist known for his imaginative patterns... in a palette of vivid colours.”
House & Garden · “Prioritising art in the world of design.”
Liberty · “Sam Wilde translates natural phenomena into bold and beautiful print… offering a space for dreamers to build a world of their own imagining.”
Pattern Observer · “Detail is all part of the immense thought and story that goes into each and every design.”
Saatchi Art · “Expands the limits of painting, ceramics, and fabrics to imbue objects with richly detailed narrative scenes and landscapes.”
View · “Dramatic, illustrative printed patterns at the intersection of visual art and surface design.”
Viewpoint Magazine · “Empowering the viewer through visually escapists worlds.”
World of Interiors · “Sam’s work presents a narrative inspired by animals, creatures and plants, all entangled together in a fantasy.”
Zoffany · “Sam’s creative philosophy unites creative depiction with the evocative charm of the natural world.”
Blumenhaus · "His colorful, detailed artworks offer a fresh and surprising take on pattern design, turning them into captivating and unique worlds."
Colossal · “Sam Wilde imagines a post-natural future in lurid colour.”
Communication Arts · “Employing natural and unnatural colours, visual metaphors, and uneasy compositions to heighten both the danger and the beauty inherent in our changing world.”
Cover · “Bold, ornate, immersive, fantastical repeat prints based on the natural world.”
Creative Boom · “After quickly making a name for himself in the creative sector, Sam has become a leading new designer.”
Elle Decoration · “Fearless fusion of classical and contemporary.”
Freize · “Surface designs to immerse, empower, engage and educate.”
Homes & Gardens · “British artist known for his imaginative patterns... in a palette of vivid colours.”
House & Garden · “Prioritising art in the world of design.”
Liberty · “Sam Wilde translates natural phenomena into bold and beautiful print… offering a space for dreamers to build a world of their own imagining.”
Pattern Observer · “Detail is all part of the immense thought and story that goes into each and every design.”
Saatchi Art · “Expands the limits of painting, ceramics, and fabrics to imbue objects with richly detailed narrative scenes and landscapes.”
View · “Dramatic, illustrative printed patterns at the intersection of visual art and surface design.”
Viewpoint Magazine · “Empowering the viewer through visually escapists worlds.”
World of Interiors · “Sam’s work presents a narrative inspired by animals, creatures and plants, all entangled together in a fantasy.”
Zoffany · “Sam’s creative philosophy unites creative depiction with the evocative charm of the natural world.”