In the spirit of Sherry Levine’s iconic rephotographing of Walker Evans 1930s photos, Lisa Ruyter’s latest paintings reproduce photos from the Farm Security Administration’s archive of images shot during the Great Depression. In Ruyter’s words the images are, ‘a record of what was already being lost to Americans even as it was being constructed, an American dream of self-determination, independence and freedom.’ (At Eleven Rivington through July 3rd).
Lisa Ruyter, Russell Lee: Mother and child of agricultural day laborers family encamped near Spiro. Sequoyah County Oklahoma, acrylic on canvas, 78.74 x 39.37 inches, 2014.
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Merrily Kerr
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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