CV

Biography Jon Merritt lives and works in Rockport, Maine. He completed his MFA in painting at Rhode Island School of Design in 2015 and his BFA at California Institute of the Arts in 2012. Originally from Munster, Indiana, his passion for painting and geometric abstract art was born while working for a local artist and gallerist during high school. His influences include science fiction, 20th century modern art and furniture design, voxel-based video games, and pre-modern examples of geometric design and furniture construction. Assisted by refined skills in woodworking and computer graphics, his current work is divided between populating ongoing painting series and realizing his vision in new media.

Education
Master of Fine Arts - Rhode Island School of Design, 2013-2015
Bachelors of Fine Arts- California Institute of the Arts, 2008-2012

Selected Exhibitions

2023
Jon Merritt: Geometry Forward, Atrium Gallery, South Shore Arts, Munster, IN

2022
Hole History Show III, Lewis Gallery, Portland Public Gallery, Portland, Maine

2021
Peopleplace Benefit Art Show, High Mountain Hall, Camden, Maine
2020
Abstraction, Arc Gallery, Chicago, IL
2019
Brixus, Cade Tompkins Projects, Providence, RI
Chaos and Order, Post Office Gallery, Provincetown, MA
Paintings for Dragons, solo exhibition, O' Project Space, Los Angeles, CA
Manifolds: 2011 - 2018, solo exhibition, Virtual Dream Center Version 3.0
2018
Sculpture Garden, Art Lot, Brooklyn, NY
Beyond Ornament, solo exhibition, Steel House Gallery, Rockland, ME
Hole History II, Steel House Gallery, Rockland, ME
2017
Geoforms, Jankossen Contemporary Art, New York, NY
Visible•Invisible•Divisible, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
Hgggh, Jace Space, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Antone's Sculpture Garden, Virtual Dream Center Version 1.0
Hole History Show, Asymmetrick Arts, Rockland, ME
Lush Vibes, Franklin Arts Center, Brainerd, MN
2015 
Sub-Scheme, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
MFA Painting Program Thesis Exhibition, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
RISD Grad Show 2015, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI
Fever Dream, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
2014
The Chicago Effect: Redefining the Middle, Hyde Park Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Not Tight, Memorial Hall Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 
Chin's Push Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Rainbow Room, Front Street Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
RISD MFA Painting, 1stdibs at the New York Design Center, New York City, NY
Abstract Art, Gallery 659, Whiting, IN
///YOU THIRSTY, Expose Gallery, Providence, RI
USB Shuffle, Institut fur Alles Mogliche, Berlin, Germany
2013
RISD Painting Department Biennial Exhibition, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
All About Colors, Arterie Fine Arts, Napervilled, IL
L.A. Fly By, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
Off the Grid, Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL
LACDA 9th Anniversary Exhibit, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
Electron Salon, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA 
Snap to Grid, LACDA , Los Angeles, CA
2012 
The Dope City Prophets, Rochester Art House, Westood, CA
Painting in the Digital Age, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Summer Abstract Showcase, Rochester Art House, Westwood, CA
Mirthe - Delight- Awe, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
Towards A Brixus, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Open Drawing Club group show, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2011
Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 
Class, Think Tank Studios, Los Angeles, CA 
2010
Prototypes, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA 
BFA2 group show, Calarts Main Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Virtual Reality Test (collaboration with Michael Ray-Von), California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
Virtually Monumental, Stevenson Blanche Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2009 
Expansive Fields, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia CA
Black Holes and Baby Universes, CalArts Main Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2008
Constructing the Constructors, Uncle Freddy's Gallery, Highland, IN~

Curatorial History
Signature Sublimations, Rochester Art House, Los Angeles, CA
Open Drawing Club group show (co-curated), Stevension Blanch Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA 

Bibliography
 "Paintings for Dragons by CalArts Alum Jon Merritt Opens at O’ Project Space" 24700 Blog, February 23rd, 2019
“Documenting ‘Hole History’ at Steel House,” Courier Gazette, May, 26 2018.
"A Passion for Pastry," Courier Gazette, June 2, 2016.
Allision Meier, “Highlights from the RISD MFA Painting Exhibition in Chelsea,” Hyperallergic. July 24th, 2015. 
"Jean-Baptiste Lenglet et Thomas Fort présentent Virtual Dream Center," Point Contemporain. January 16, 2017.
Plagens, Peter. "Yale, RISD MFAs Go on Display," Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2015.
Siclen, Bill Van. "RISD Students Exhibit Work Ranging from Polished to Playful," Providence Journal, May 21, 2015. Waxman, Lori. "The New Middle Age: Hyde Park Art Center Celebrates 75," Chicago Tribune, Novemeber 13, 2014.
Bonke, Megan. "Life After Art School: Disappointments and Future Plans," Chicago Gallery News, May 2, 2014. 
Jon, Martin, Gapers Block, June 22, 2012, Chicago, IL.
CalArts Magazine, Winter 2012, p30-31.
Shellberg, Tim. "Munster Native Changing Face of Art," The Times, May 31, 2008