In the Viewing Room: Kent Merriman Jr.

Now on view three intimate works by Kent Merriman Jr. from his last exhibition at the gallery, Before My Feet. To categorize Kent Merriman Jr. as a realist or hyper realist is too easy a categorization. His work lies beyond realism existing in the liminal space between a real object and a painted illusion. Merriman Jr. is not an imitator. He creates works that feel both familiar and uncanny; objects that hold memory, time and the trace of the human touch.

In describing Merriman’s practice, critic Nancy Tousley has stated:

“Merriman pushes against the boundaries of traditional realist painting and window-on-the-world illusionism. To break the tyranny of the picture plane he removes the frame from painting as a shallow, two-dimensional illusion rendered on a flat surface and opens it up to the air. To bring in the third dimension he concocts a form of trompe l’oeil that weds painting to sculpture. His paintings are not only three-dimensional; they are hyper-realistic. Layering, modeling and carving paint as if it were intended to be a multidimensional material, Merriman makes objects that challenge both the limits of painting and the viewer’s grasp of reality….

Viewers are taken in, shocked, delighted, amazed by the deception. But by definition, realism is not reality; trompe l’oeil is optical illusion. What is real is their unreality and it is a tour de force.”

Op. Cit., Nancy Tousley, Kent Merriman Jr. and the Thingness of Objects. Glenbow Museum, Exhibition booklet, 2019.

We invite you to visit the gallery to view these extraordinary works first hand. 

Kent Merriman Jr.
Even If It Ends, 2024
Oil and acrylic on canvas
19” x 15” / 48.2 x 38.1 cm