Benjamin Merris (1978) Idaho, USA
Lives and works in New York City
Education
2007 MFA, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow UK
2002 BA, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
Current and Upcoming Projects
2020 Group Show at Greene House Gallery, Brooklyn NY
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Benny BonTempo, Cleopatra’s, New York, NY
macrodaffodilia, Jeff Bailey Gallery, Hudson, NY
2014 Stranger, Gallery Diet, Miami, FL
All Ways Always, Jeff Bailey Gallery, Hudson, NY
How Forests Think, Battat Contemporary, Montreal, CAN
2013 ltd los angeles presents…Benny Merris, ltd los angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Dessicated Punch Bowl (w/ Ben Dowell), Orgy Park, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Kunsthal Rotterdam (site-specific painting commission), Rotterdam, NL
2010 Happy As An Asteroid, Push Galerie, Montreal, CAN
Bubble and Squeak, Arch 1 (curated by Jim Lambie), Glasgow, UK
ECSTAT!C !NS!STANCE, Cokkie Snoei, Amsterdam, NL
2009 Non-Invasive Pioneers (with Bas Zoontjens), Cokkie Snoei Gallery, Rotterdam
Maximalism: Phase Three, The Project Room, Glasgow, UK
SUPER DEUTSCHLAND BOOGIE WOOGIE 78, MAXHANSDANIEL, Berlin, DE
Meaningism, Sweet Geranium Gallery, Glasgow, UK
I Think I Don't When I Do But Uhhh, The Brunswick Hotel, Glasgow, UK
2007 Maximalism: Phase Two, inter/media gallery, Glasgow, UK
2006 Territory, E.S.U. Gallery (Edinburgh Festival) Edinburgh, UK
2003 It Doesn’t Matter, Espresso Royale, Boston, MA
September, The Moan and Dove, Amherst, MA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 Drench, HACO gallery, Brooklyn NY
The Mushroom Show, Sardine, Brooklyn NY
Vanishing Point, L.O.G. at Camayuhs, Atlanta, GA
LANDMARKS, SVA Flatiron Gallery, curated by Kayla Abree, New York, NY
Away In The Hill, GRIMM Gallery, New York, NY
Psychedelic Healing Center, Essex Flowers, New York NY
The Garden of Earthly Delights, Washington Art Association, Washington, CT (curated by Timothy Bergstrom)
2018 Shandaken Paint School @ FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY
2017 Life’s Rich Pageant, Jeff Bailey Gallery, Hudson, NY
In Between Two Bodies (w/ Luke Armitstead and Zoe Nelson), South Of The
Tracks Projects, Chicago, IL
2016 Protuberances, LAXART (curated by Jess Arndt and Catherine Taft), Los
Angeles, CA
Shroom Show, Helper (curated by Nicholas Moenich), Brooklyn, NY
Sexting, Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY
Dude…Heavy, South Of The Tracks Projects, Chicago, IL
2015 The Secret Life, Murray Guy (curated by Leidy Churchman), New York, NY
2014 Trioceros (w/ Judy Chicago and Sascha Braunig), Regina Rex, New York, NY
Half Drop, Telluride Arts Center (curated by Meredith Nemerov), Telluride, CO
Nascent Magma Far Flung w/ Mike Welch, Helper Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Outside The Lines, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (curated by Dean
Daderko) Houston, TX
As Tears Go By, Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam, NL
Element, Rudiments, and Principles, Boston University Art Gallery, curated
By Kate McNamara and Dana Frankfort, Boston, MA
Pleinairism, Walter Phillips Gallery (curated by Kitty Scott and
Silke Otto Knapp) Banff, CAN
Mind The Gap, ff Konzepte zu Aktueller Kunst (curated by Veit Rieber) Frankfurt
The End, Beginnings, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Bred and Fed, Shoot The Lobster @ BS Gallery, Iowa City, IA
5 Positions, WWTWO Project Space, Montreal, CAN
Artypes Portrait Salon, Public Assembly, Brooklyn NY
Artypes Still Life Salon, Wandering Around Wondering, Brooklyn, NY
2009 Way Out Is The Way Out, Embassy Gallery (curated by Jamie Kenyon) Edinburgh, UK
Die Die Die, Member’s show, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, UK
Neither Bird Nor Fish (w/ Ragnar Jonasson), SWG3, Glasgow, UK
2008 You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever, Galerie LHK, Paris, FR
You Should Be On Holiday, Member’s Show, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, UK
Future Greats, Salon Gallery, London, UK
A Painting, A Guitar, A Wig and A Wheelie Bag (curated by Jim Lambie) Glasgow The State, A. Vermin in association with Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art, (curated by Alhena Katsof), Glasgow, UK
2007 No Way Out, Living Art Museum, Rekjyavik
Furthermore, Artnews Projects, Berlin, DE
MFA Degree show, Tramway, Glasgow, UK
Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World, Low Salt, Glasgow, UK
Royal Scottish Academy Student Exhibition, Edinburgh,UK
2006 Solo, Member’s Show, Transmission, Glasgow, UK
MFA Interim Show, Macintosh Gallery, Glasgow, UK
De Kunstvlaai 6, Westergas Fabriek, Amsterdam, NL
Mercury Art Prize, The Hospital Gallery, London, UK
Royal Scottish Academy Student Exhibition, Edinburgh, UK
The Russian Doll Show, Assembly Gallery, Glasgow, UK
2005 It Shouldn’t Matter, The Moan and Dove, Amherst, MA
Annual Show, Jamaica Plain Open Studios, Boston, MA
2004 The Otherside, The Otherside, Boston, MA
Annual Show, Jamaica Plain Open Studios, Boston, MA
2003 Annual Show, Jamaica Plain Open Studios, Boston, MA
2002 Boston Printmakers Biennale, 808 Gallery. Boston, MA
Annual Show, Jamaica Plain Open Studios, Boston, MA
2001 Guest Show, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA
Performance
2001 – 2004 Kaiju Big Battel. Japanese monster combat. Live performances in NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Los Angeles. Produced 3 DVD’s with International distribution. Live performance on national television: MTV and “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” ABC broadcasting.
Residencies
2018 Shandaken Projects, Paint School, New York, NY
Offshore Residency, Saronic Sea, Greece
2015 Denniston Hill, Catskills, NY
2012 The Banff Centre – Summer Thematic Residency w/ Jan Verwoert and
Silke Otto-Knapp, Banff, CA
2000 University of Massachusetts Boston Summer Residency on Nantucket, MA
Awards/Grants
2016 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award (nominee)
2009 British Arts Council Travel Grant
2007 Glasgow Sculpture Studios Graduate Award
2006 Royal Scottish Academy DCA Data Solutions Prize for Painting
Public Collections
AkzoNobel Art Collection
Public Lectures
2018 Keltie Ferris, Benny Merris, Bob Nickas at Cleopatra's, Brooklyn, NY
2016 Benny Merris at The Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
Bibliography
”Chelsea on Warren”, imby (in my back yard), John Isaacs, 25/05/14
“Must See This Week”, Canadian Art, 15/05/14
“Exploring the Spiritual Through Art” BU Today, John O’Rourke, 04/12/13
“Benny Merris: An Embodiment of the Abstract” CAMH TV, 14/09/13
’Outside the Lines’ Opens Up a World of Abstraction” Houston Chronicle, Molly Glentzer, 08/09/13
”Maximal Abstraction”, Montreal Mirror, Stacey DeWolfe, 21/10/10
“Benny Merris: Bubble and Squeak”, The Skinny, Andrew Cattanach, 21/04/10
“Benny Launches Surprise Attach on Third Person. Position. Pictures.” John Calcutt, It’s Not Hard: Explorations of Live Art, 2008
“Glasgow International”, Martin Vincent, Frieze, Issue 116 June/July/August 2008
“A.Vermin”, Jenny Richards, The Skinny Online, 23/04/2008
“High thrills and ungodly chills”, Moira Jeffrey, Scotland On Sunday, 20/04/08
“No Mean City For Art”, Susan Mansfield, The Scotsman 18/04/2008
“Outsiders Give The Art Festival Its Edge’, Jack Mottram, The Herald, 18/04/2008