Red Files presents a charged visual encounter between deep black gesso and the delicate, almost confessional mark of colored pencil on paper. Samantha Roth works in a register where administrative systems and personal history converge, and this 2021 work channels that tension through its title's implicit reference to bureaucratic record-keeping, classification, and the weight of documented lives. The black gesso ground swallows light, creating a surface that feels simultaneously archival and resistant, while the colored pencil cuts through with a warmth and fragility that no institutional form could fully contain. Roth's practice draws on the visual language of official documentation and organizational structure, reframing these systems as sites of emotional and psychological inquiry. In Red Files, the contrast between the density of the gesso and the intimacy of the drawn line speaks to the tension between what is recorded and what escapes record entirely. The work operates with the quiet authority of an object that knows something, holding its subject matter close rather than illustrating it outright. At 76.2 by 55.9 centimeters, the work commands presence while maintaining a human scale well suited to close, sustained looking. Currently available through Public Gallery, Red Files is presented signed by the artist and unframed, allowing collectors the opportunity to make considered choices about presentation. It is a compelling example of Roth's ability to invest modest, intimate materials with considerable conceptual and emotional depth.