Edward Merritt
The Long Season

I studied sculpture at Kent State University and continued my education at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I received my MFA in sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art. Immediately after, I spent two years assisting in the glass lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

My early work combined steel and glass to create figurative and abstract sculptural forms. I then spent many years focused on creating within the field of patent design and development. I am the co-founder of Genedics, an invention company holding 98 patents in the realms of telecommunications, clean energy design, holographic imagery, and digital technology. 

I returned to the studio in 2016. Since then, I have been working with two-dimensional panels utilizing materials from urban environments. My recent works draw awareness to social and environmental issues through the use of recycled and repurposed materials. I source and excavate peeling paint in and around inner-city environments and in areas of dirt and water adjacent to old warehouse buildings, train tunnels, bridges, roads, and dump sites. In particular, I collect graffiti debris—shards and swaths of fallen paint, often hundreds of layers thick—that have succumbed to time and gravity.

Exploring the fundamental challenge of creating without destroying in return, I place great value on the environmental impacts of my artmaking process. The destructive forces of time unlock gates of opportunity to create work with elements that would have otherwise become contaminants. I celebrate the fact that the material that was at once charged with its own rich history can become part of my personal expression. My pieces are carefully constructed narratives about human and environmental conditions, introspection, interpersonal relationships, social politics, and unexpected beauty.