Since early in his career, Lam has been impressed by the aesthetics of Ancient Greece and the Renaissance.

During the late 1990s, he traveled through Italy and Germany to document the statuary and embellishments of European monuments and fountains. Lam accumulated an abundant body of photographs that became the source of new paintings.

In his work, Lam seeks to balance materialism with spiritualism by bringing the gracious elegance of classical art into play. He achieves an ephemeral glow in his paintings of busts and statues through a Pointillist treatment of space, light and shape.

Born in 1963, Sam Lam studied at the Guangzhou College of Art before immigrating to Canada in 1981. In 1985 he became a Canadian citizen.

In 1987, Lam graduated with a degree in painting from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. He was among five Chinese artists included in “Here Not There” at the Vancouver Art Gallery (1995), an exhibit that explored issues related to artists born and educated in China who have re-established themselves in Vancouver.

Lam has shown with the Diane Farris Gallery since 1992. During 2003-2004, Lam returned to his native home in Guangzhou, China after 20 years abroad in Vancouver and New York City.