Artist at Osner Gallery, Hout Bay
Samantha Lee Osner
Minimal, feminine and built in layers. Samantha Lee Osner starts with a photograph and works over it with paint, transfers and overlays, until the photograph is no longer the point. Her work hangs beside her father’s at Osner Gallery in Hout Bay.
Her story
From a borrowed camera to walls of her own
Samantha Lee Osner in her studio.Samantha Lee Osner was on her way to university when, during a gap year, she sat in on one of her father Martin Osner’s lectures. Afterwards she asked to borrow his camera and tripod, and she never looked back.
She took his landscape class three times, assisted on every class he taught and learnt lighting in commercial photography before turning to fine art. Her first exhibition, Daydreams, in May 2018, was a collection of soft pinhole photographs.
When the gallery in Hout Bay was ready to open, the landscape photographer Koos van der Lende told Martin to give half of the walls to his daughter. He did, and today they run Osner Gallery together.
Her collections
Six collections, one quiet way of seeing
Samantha Lee Osner works in series. These are six of her collections, from pure photography to layered mixed media, each shown here as a whole artwork.
Précis
Large landscape impressions worked in paint and texture over a photograph. Divine Harmony is on the Bloupunt Chardonnay label.View Divine Harmony
Eternity
Long exposures that turn the sea to silk around rocks and jetties on the Western Cape coast.View Eternity No.2
La Vie est Belle
Photography, paint and texture brought together and transferred onto metal, a tranquil ode to nature.View La Vie est Belle No.1
Ebony & Ivory
Mist, mountains, still water and trees, printed in quiet black and white.View Misty Peak
Pastures of Splendour
Golden reeds moving in the wind, layered with in camera multiple exposures.View Pastures of Splendour No.2
Memoir
Photography with black powder transfers and fine hand embellishment, quiet and poetic.View Memoir No.1
In her own words
“I am drawn to minimalism and exude a feminine style. I explore various mediums, including paint, transfers and overlays, to uniquely capture the world’s beauty and the nature around me.”
“I strive to create art that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also evokes emotion and creates a connection with the viewer.”
Samantha Lee Osner, artist statement
Visiting Osner Gallery
Questions about Samantha Lee Osner
Osner Gallery is at 14 Luisa Way, Hout Bay, twenty minutes from Cape Town. Open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm. Sunday by appointment, booked the day before. Plan your visit.
Can I meet Samantha Lee Osner?
Very likely. She is at the gallery most days. To be sure she is in when you visit, phone ahead or arrange a time.
Where can I see her work?
At Osner Gallery in Hout Bay, where her work hangs beside Martin Osner’s, and online at Osner Art Gallery.
Does she take commissions?
Yes. Samantha Lee Osner accepts commission orders. Send us a message about the work you have in mind and we will talk it through with you.
Does she teach?
Yes. Samantha Lee Osner teaches Photoshop for the Artist, an online course at the Art Photography Academy, and helps present the Academy’s workshops.
Does she exhibit?
Every November Martin Osner and Samantha Lee Osner open a father and daughter exhibition in Hout Bay. This year it is Impressions of Grace, with a public opening on 28 November 2026. See the exhibitions.
More about Samantha Lee Osner
Samantha Lee Osner, in full
Her full story, her collections and her teaching are on her own website.