“Bye.”
August 11 - August 27
Monaco is delighted to present “Bye.” a solo exhibition of new work by Emmett Merrill, curated by Monaco member Edo Rosenblith in the Main Space.
Please join us for an opening reception Friday, August 11, 2023 from 6 to 9 p.m with viewings available on Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. and by appointment.
For all inquiries and appointments please contact: Edo Rosenblith at edorosenblith1988@gmail.com or Monaco at info@monacomonaco.us / IG: @monaco_usa
Exhibition documentation for “Bye.” by Monaco member Emily Mueller IG: @ferris_muellerz
ARTIST EXHIBITION STATEMENT
"Bye.” is a suite of lithographs about folks using art to talk to the dead, or the dead using art to talk to them. A man uses homemade lanterns to illuminate the reflection of his dead girlfriend in a dark window - a chalk drawing of a young artist's father begins to follow him around after his suicide - a masked figure recites Greek Tragedy plays to a severed head out in the woods - A ghostly figure appears in the ivy hanging from a French Quarter balcony during a Mardi Gras parade, and so on.
The prints can be read as a series of visual ghost stories, each, in part, exploring the theme of the nature colliding with human made spaces, like a deer bursting through the windshield of a car. Nature in this case, isn't just the idea of foliage, animals, or wide open landscapes, but also the presence of death.
In his study of Kentucky folklore, "Ghosts Along the Cumberland" William Montell describes a farm worker who claims to have come across the ghost of a cow he had put down the previous week. He sees it in the field, goes to get his family, and when they return, the cow is gone. That's the end of the story. I think the works have a similar sense of "ghost story". It isn't really any kind of cautionary tale, but more a study of the moment between someone in their day to day life experiencing the absurd, in whatever form.
Then, when they try and share it with someone else, that thing is gone.
IG: @stagprint / website:www.emmettmerrill.com
BIO
Emmett Merrill
Emmett Merrill is an independent artist-printmaker hailing from Kansas City, MO. His work uses lithography to explore topics including ghost stories, the American Highway system, and art history. He is a collaborator with artist collective and fine art print shop, Grafik House, where he self publishes his work. Merrill received his BFA in printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His work is included in numerous public and private collections in the U.S. and internationally, most notably the Library of Congress and the China Printmaking Museum.
For all inquiries and appointments please contact: Monaco at info@monacomonaco.us / IG: @monaco_usa