Ricky is a self-taught artist born in Johannesburg in 1984 and now working and living in Cape Town South Africa. He is well known for his large-scale murals that can be seen in cities all over the world, from Cape Town to Istanbul and Kathmandu, he paints under the pseudonym Freddy Sam. His murals focus on bringing to light relevant social issues, exploring the nature of man in present society, in history and in nature. His achievements in public art have made it on CNN, Mail & Guardian’s ‘200 young people in SA who make a difference’ and National Geographic’s list of ‘11 street art greats’ alongside the likes of Banksy.
Ricky is also known for his curatorial work and creative activism. He is a co founder of Colour Ikamva an art outreach program designed to Re-imagine education through creativity and self-empowerment and was the founder of A WORD OF ART Residency, Gallery and project space witch he opened in 2008 and later closed in 2014
In recent years Ricky closed his organizations down to solely focus on his studio practice with oil painting as a chosen medium. Teaching himself this process has become the antithesis of his street work as it allows for a more meditative environment to create.