Born in 1971, Melbourne, Australia, Lara Merrett currently lives and works in Melbourne. In 1993, she studied painting abroad at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, before completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales in 1996, and graduating with a Master of Arts (Painting) the following year.
Read MoreFeaturing among her major solo exhibitions: Doublethink, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2014); the ever changing nature of things, Gallery Ecosse, Southern Highlands, Sydney (2013); Seeing is believing, Jan Murphy Gallery at Sydney Contemporary (2013); invaders, Karen Woodbury Gallery at Block Projects, Melbourne (2012); every breath you take, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2010); still vast reserves, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney (2009); soft rock, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2007), To soon to tell, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney (2006); let's get together, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2005); Upside down you turn me, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney (2004); Wish you were here, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney (2003); and No Hard Edges, Kaliman Gallery, Sydney (2002).
Lara has also participated in numerous group exhibitions most recently in Perceptions of Space: Justin Collection, Glen Eira City Council, Melbourne (2014); Wattle: Contemporary Australian Art, The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong (2011); the Salon des Refuses 2010, The Alternative Archibald & Wynne Prize Selection, the National Trust S.H. Ervin Gallery Sydney, The Shilo Project, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2009/10); Turbulent Terrain, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne (and touring) (2009/10) Other group exhibitions of note include, Newtown Diaries, Delmar Gallery, Sydney (2009); An Ever Expanding Universe, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth (2008); Décor, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne (2008); ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Award, ABN AMRO Melbourne & Sydney (2007); Against the Amnesiac Lifestyle Showroom, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne (2006); Portable model of... Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart and La Trobe Regional Gallery, Victoria (2005); Arrival/Departure, Bus Gallery Melbourne, collaboration with John Nicholson (2003); Helen Lemprière Traveling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney (2002 and 1999); New Painting, Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales (2002); Fisher Ghost Festival Contemporary Art Award, Campbelltown City Art Gallery, New South Wales (2002 and 1996); and New Acquisitions, The Sir Hermann Black Gallery, University of Sydney (2000).
She has received various grants and awards such as The Freedman Foundation Traveling Scholarship for Emerging Artists (2001) and Willoughby City Art Prize (2001). Lara has recently been commissioned for various projects at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop for St Michaels Church, Melbourne (2010), and the Sofitel Hotel, Melbourne (2009), and is represented in the collections of the University of New South Wales, Sydney; the Bundanon Estate; Artbank, Melbourne; RACV; Sofitel Hotel; Macquarie Bank and UBS, Australia. Lara was recently commissioned by the St Regis Hotel in Chengdu, China (2014).
Text courtesy Karen Woodbury Fine Art.
