About the Series

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re doing everything we can to flatten the curve — but even though the museum is closed, and we’re working from home, we still talk to artists around the world every day. Here in Houston, in Italy, in China, in San Francisco … artists, like all of us, are weathering the coronavirus personally and professionally.

We will bring these conversations with artists — wherever they are — to wherever you are.

About the Artist

Benny Merris was born Boise, Idaho, and lives and works in New York City. Merris has been an artist-in-residence at The Banff Centre (2012), Denniston Hill (2015), The Offshore Residency (2018), and in 2020 he will be the first artist-in-residence in Malpais, Costa Rica as part of a program founded by the artist Jules de Balincourt. In 2018, Merris was a member of the inaugural Paint School cohort, a master class run by Shandaken Projects in New York City. Merris’ work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Cleopatra’s, Jeff Bailey Gallery, Nina Johnson, Battat Galerie, Cokkie Snoei, Glasgow Project Room, and Kunsthal Rotterdam. Group exhibitions include presentations at GRIMM Gallery, LAXART, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Walter Phillips Gallery at The Banff Center. Merris has a BA from University of Massachusetts Boston and an MFA from The Glasgow School of Art.