Sam Hensley (he/him) is an MA student in Art History interested in global art and art’s connections between cultures.
He received his BA in Art History with a minor in Japanese Studies from West Virginia University where his research focused on Pre-Columbian art and belief, particularly of the Maya of Mesoamerica and the Moche of the Andes. At WVU, he co-authored papers for the CAA 2023 and SECAC 2022 conferences on the symbolism of merchants and travel on Classic Maya ceramics and assisted with work for a forthcoming edited volume about the Maya site of Salinas de los Nueve Cerros in Guatemala. He also studied paper conservation hands-on in San Gemini, Italy in summer 2022, anticipating work with print collections. After studying the Japanese language during his BA, as a graduate student, he is interested in Japanese art of all time periods and Japan’s artistic influence on the rest of the world.
When he isn’t spending hours flipping through old art history volumes, Sam enjoys hikes, live music, and searching for the best iced americano in town.