Esteban Samayoa (b. 1994, Sacramento, CA) is a Mexican-Guatemalan artist based in Oakland, California. Working across charcoal drawing, painting, ceramics, and installation, his practice explores themes of cultural heritage, identity, resilience, and transformation through deeply personal and community-centered narratives.

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Samayoa is largely self-taught and is known for his expressive black-and-white charcoal drawings, which form the foundation of his practice. These works often depict intimate scenes drawn from memory and his lived experience, blending personal history with broader cultural references. In addition to charcoal, he works with vibrant color, airbrush techniques, and textured materials such as burlap, plaster, and soil—materials that reference his Guatemalan roots. 

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Influenced by muralism, street art, Latin American modernism, and folk traditions, Samayoa’s work combines figurative imagery with symbolic elements to explore ancestry, belonging, and the fluid nature of identity. His imagery frequently incorporates scenes from everyday life, animals, and figures from community histories, creating a visual language that bridges personal storytelling and collective experience.

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Samayoa received the 2024 Artadia Award for the Bay Area, recognizing his growing impact within the regional art community. In 2025, he presented his first solo institutional exhibition, Blood Be Water, at the Institute of Contemporary Art San José, an immersive installation of paintings, drawings, and ceramics examining transformation, community, and chosen family.

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His work continues to engage with questions of memory, survival, and cultural inheritance, creating spaces where personal narratives intersect with broader histories of diaspora and community.

 

Samayoa's work has been exhibited widely throughout the Bay Area and beyond, with notable presentations at the ICA San Jose; Charlie James Gallery, LA; Andrew Kreps, New York; and Good Mother Gallery, LA.