Artist Bio

Benny Merris is a New York-based artist from Boise, Idaho. Merris has had solo exhibitions at The Bernstein Gallery, Princeton University, Princeton; Heroes Gallery, NYC; Cleopatra’s, Brooklyn; Jeff Bailey Gallery, Hudson; Nina Johnson, Miami; Battat Galerie, Montreal; Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam; Glasgow Project Room, Glasgow; and Kunsthal Rotterdam. Merris has participated in numerous group exhibitions including presentations at Ballroom Marfa, Marfa; Oddkin, Providence; Anton Kern Gallery, NYC; Nathalie Karg Gallery, NYC; O’Flaherty’s, NYC; Topps Gallery, Memphis; The American Academy of Arts and Letters, NYC; GRIMM Gallery, NYC; Essex Flowers, NYC; Murray Guy, NYC; Regina Rex, NYC; LAXART, Los Angeles; Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston; Boston University Art Gallery, Boston; and the Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff. Merris received a BA from University of Massachusetts Boston, an MFA from Glasgow School of Art, and he was a member of the inaugural Paint School cohort run by Shandaken Projects in New York City. Merris has been an artist-in-residence at Casa de los Artistas, The Banff Centre, Denniston Hill, and Offshore Residency. His solo exhibition ‘In Love With The World’ will open in December 2024 alongside a new public art commission at The Common Well in Boise, Idaho.

PRESS

Cate McQuaid, "Pop-up show in East Providence beckons with 'Oddkin'",The Boston Globe, June 7, 2022

Martha Schwendener, "What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries Right Now", The New York Times, August 11, 2022

Max Lakin, "Divine Excess on Avenue C", The New York Times, July 20, 2022

Public conversations

Brooklyn Rail New Social Environment #614: Benny Merris | flash!

CAMH Connects with Dean Daderko

Tuesday Evenings at The Modern