Merrick Belyea is an established Australian artist whose work focuses on a curiously human appetite for destruction. Environmental concerns are central to recent paintings that refer to a potential for devastation and offer a portent to future mechanical scarification of the landscape. Paring back the veneer of previously prepared paint layers revealing the detritus of process and the fragility of surface.
Merrick graduated from Claremont School of Art in 1989. Holding his first solo exhibition in 1994 he has since maintained a regular exhibition program including the Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore art fairs. In 2001 Merrick was invited to exhibit at the Australian Embassy in the Philippines. He was included in the Australian Art Collector ‘Australia’s Most Collectable Artists’ list in 2004 and 2006.
Merrick has contributed to a number of boards and committees in the not-for-profit arts sector, most recently chair and founding member of the Art Collective WA.
Merrick’s work is held by a number of public and private collections including Artbank, Janet Holmes á Court Collection, Wesfarmers, Bankwest, St John of God Health Care, Royal Perth Hospital, The University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, City of Perth and City of Fremantle. Merrick Belyea is represented by Art Collective WA, Perth.
