Rhiannon Mercer MFA

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Brief bio:

Rhiannon received her Master of Fine Art degree in painting and drawing from the University of New Mexico in 2006 and her Bachelor of Art from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2000.

A native to the American West, she has developed a visual language for contemporary landscape through various and often gritty media.  Her images and installations feed off the experiences of keeping her hands in the dirt; the dirt of a world with a troubled past, aggravated present, and uncertain future. Whether working on backcountry trails programs, search and rescue, or as a wildland firefighter, these activities offer fresh and unexpected perspectives of the physical world, land use, and “environmentalism” by being on the inside that also complement the imagination. The relationship between her art and these types of experiences in the physical world are visually apparent, linking the gritty and aggressive living at times with a similar surface of a painting or drawing.

Rhiannon is also a part-time instructor of painting at the University of New Mexico and gallery assistant to a non-profit art space in downtown Albuquerque, NM.  She has received several awards and grants, including the Sierra Arts Foundation Professional Artist award and exhibits regularly.

 Artist’s statement:

Raised as a child and now living near past and present nuclear-test prone areas, I am land-locked and surrounded by endless inspiration for my work--a land disturbed by centuries of human alteration and domination. As a mere human in this place, I am exploring the personal connection (however fragile, confused, or misguided at times) to environment and to other humans sharing this local and global space. The images that result are rooted in frustration at the present and uncertainty about the future. In the interest of self-preservation over deep concern about environmental and human health, my current work explores the idea of shelter, above ground and below.  The dome-- reminiscent of the Biosphere experiments in a closed ecosystem (in)capable of prolonged human habitation--as a means of shelter and insulation against increasing environmental changes damaging to life and health.  And the subterranean--a dark, psychological landscape-- a refuge from the unknown and outlet for the most basic of human instincts: survival.