Larry Merriman

A SOW'S EAR
For the past ten years I have been making large scale temporary sculptures. Usually, I make room-size walk-in sculptures that surround the viewer. Often, I use cardboard, found objects, and my own lighting system to change the interior shape of a room. I do this because I enjoy making enclosures that differ dramatically from the expected architecture. I also enjoy working with recycled and found materials because these materials bring their own history to the experience of my sculpture. Such materials are worn, disposable, and often covered with printed words and images. Consequently, the finished sculpture is old and new at the same time. I find this contrast appealing because it suggests more complex relationships. For example, the boxes in my sculpture create a structure that addresses formal concerns such as volume, weight, texture, and space while the printed words make references that run deep in our consumer oriented society. I design a new sculpture for each site, and the installation exists only for the length of the exhibition. At the end of a show the piece is flattened and recycled.
EDUCATION
1982-84 1972-76	MFA Sculpture/Ohio University, Athens Ohio BFA Sculpture/Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1976 1975	Installation, Sow's Ear, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, Inside Inside/Inside Outside, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Coker Faculty Exhibition, Chesterfield Marlborough College, Chesterfield, SC Installation, Box III, Artista Vista, Columbia, SC Installation, Box II, Francis Marion University, Florence, SC Installation, Box Cave, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, Small Journey IV, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, South Carolina Triennial Exhibition, SC State Museum, Columbia, SC Installation, Small Journey I, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, I. P. Stanback Museum, State University, Orangeburg, SC Installation, 5 to the 13th power, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, DIMENSI0NS, Atlanta College of Art, a group show of the Southern Arts Federation, National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship Winners in Sculpture, Atlanta, Georgia Installation, Middleton, McMillan Gallery, Spirit Square Center For the Arts, Charlotte, NC Installation, Last Supper, Faculty Exhibition, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, Ground Level, Art Institute of the Permian Basin, Odessa, Texas Installation, Too Much-Too Little, Rosewood Arts Center Gallery, Kettering, Ohio Installation, Bypass, Faculty Exhibition, Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Coker College, Hartsville, SC Installation, Dead End, Raw Space, Albuquerque, New Mexico Installation, Passing Time, Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, Portsmouth, Ohio Installation, Not Obvious, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio Installation, UTC Art Gallery, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee Installation, Start to Finish, Kansas City Artist's Coalition, Kansas City, Missouri Installation, Reasonable Doubt, Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Hartsville, SC Two Person Show, Gallery for the Visual Arts, Ohio University, Lancaster, Ohio Invitational, The Perfect Couple, C.A.G.E., Cincinnati, Ohio Solo Exhibition, Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, Ohio Performance, Adena Burial Ceremony, Anderson Tree Farm, Athens, Ohio Solo Exhibition, Seigfred Gallery, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio Exhibition 280, Works Off Walls, Huntington Galleries, Huntington, West Virginia Solo Exhibition, Depot Gallery, Athens, Ohio Exchange Show, Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, Ohio Solo performance, Thinking, Alumni Hall, Oxford, Ohio
HONORS, AWARDS, AND COMPETITIONS
1992 1989 1987 1982 1984 1983	First Alternate, South Carolina Visual Arts Fellowship Southern Arts Federation/NEA Regional Fellowship winner in sculpture Finalist, Catalogue/ARTQUEST 87/A National Competition Tuition Scholarship Award/Ohio University, Athens, Ohio Finalist, Catalogue/Exhibition 280, Works Off Walls, Huntington Galleries, Huntington, West Virginia
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
1995 1994 1992-93 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1984	Panel participant for Artista Vista Sculpture Installation, Columbia, SC Lecture/slide presentation, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC Served as a committee member on the South Carolina State Art Collection Acquisitions Committee Expanding the Definitions, a panel discussion with the recipients of the 1989 recipients of the Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowships for Artists in Sculpture Lecture/slide presentation, Spirit Square Center for the Arts, Charlotte, NC Lecture/slide presentation, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio Lecture/slide presentation, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Television interview, Low Country Alive, Beaufort, SC Gallery talk, Coker College, Hartsville, South Carolina Slide lecture, Kalmia Arts, Hartsville, SC Gallery talk/Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
WORK HISTORY
1988-96 1985-88 1984-85 1980-84 1978-79 1976-78 1972-76 1967-72 1965-67 1964-65	Lecturer in Art/Exhibition Director, Coker College, Hartsville, SC, studio artist Studio artist and artist-in-residence in Ohio and South Carolina's Artist-in-Education programs Studio artist and Aide in the Toledo City School's Writing to Read program Worked part-time as stores clerk while working on my MFA and while building on and developing property near Athens, Ohio Federal Grain Inspection Service: assisted in the inspection of grain at export grain elevators in Baltimore, Maryland Studio artist and self-employed: home improvement Woodshop supervisor, counseled veterans for the VA, while working on my BFA Shipping clerk for Armco Steel Corporation in Middletown, Ohio Radio teletype operator, U.S. Army, Wurzburg, Germany Crane Leader, Armco Steel Corp., Middletown, Ohio and grain bin construction, Gratis, Ohio
COLLECTIONS
Wright State University's Museum of Contemporary Art Collection of Documentation Works
TRAVEL
Over a period of 30 years, I have traveled to Europe three times and England twice. During those travels I focused my attention on the art and architecture of many of the cultural centers of Europe. A partial listing would include: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Florence, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, and Wurzburg--I lived and worked in Wurzburg, Germany for 16 months.