Paul Merryman

Artist Statement:

This current body of work is from a series called “Growth Patterns”.  The inspiration for the Growth Pattern series arose from viewing tree branches during early spring.  I began to think about the branching of trees.  What underlying system or rules guided the branching?  What was the determining factor of length before branching occurs?  What interested me were the underlying rules that produce these structures.  I first began some linear branching drawings, the first of which emulated tree branches.  I then refined the process by defining basic rules which would guide me through the process of constructing my images.  The work has lead me to contemplate and explore the layered, structural complexity of an image which developes through a methodical application of simple rules.

Paul Merryman’s current work explores image structure through layered linear pattern based paintings and drawings using a variety of materials.

His work has been shown in galleries and exhibition spaces in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Napa, and Sacramento CA.  Paul received his BFA from the University of California,  Los Angeles.  Merryman was awarded a commission by the U.C.L.A. Olympic committee to produce a large mural that was installed in the Olympic Village Housing, during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA.  He received an Award of Merit by the California State Fair Fine Arts jury in 2012.  His work has been published in Westwind Arts, National Collegiate Arts Review and the "Art Takes Miami" 2012 artist catalogue.

Paul was born in 1963 in Torrance, CA.  He has lived and worked in Los Angeles, CA; Oakland, CA;  Ann Arbor, MI; and Hoboken, NJ.  Paul currently resides and works in Moraga, CA.