LM0812_65_72

bio

Born in 1971, Melbourne, Australia, Lara Merrett currently lives and works in Sydney. 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.


Featuring among her major solo exhibitions are: 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 including The Shilo Project, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2009/10); Turbulent Terrain, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne(and touring) (2009/10); 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 Australian 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.