Art on a Postcard for War Child UK

About 

Born in Cambridgeshire, Mercer studied at Cardiff School of Art and Design graduating in 2012 before being awarded the postgraduate programme at The Royal Drawing School. Since 2014 she has been a painter working in London.  

Mercer’s paintings juxtapose everyday scenes and classical themes creating haunting images where the subject fades into the sensuality of the medium. The figures in her work move and dissolve across the canvas, simultaneously creating a sense of disappearance and presence. 

Education 

BA, Cardiff School of Art and Design (2012) 

Royal Drawing School Post-graduate Programme (2013) 

Select Exhibitions/Awards 

Mercer has exhibited in the UK and China. Stand-out exhibitions include: Christie's London, 2013, Mercer Chance Gallery and Mandell's Gallery in 2018, San Mei Gallery in 2019, Carousel Gallery 2020, Fitzrovia Gallery 2022 and Aleph Contemporary 2022. Shortlisted for the Ruth Borchard Prize and Waverton Art Prize (2020).Prize winner of the Hampstead Art Society prize (2022) 

Gallery Representation 

Aleph Contemporary 

Statement about AOAP Submitted Artwork   

Postcard 1- 'T-shirt' - Gouache on Paper  

I love using gouache because it allows me to combine painting and drawing. Reworking and adjustments are left visible, therefore each mark shows indecision and the uncertainty involved as the  image appears on the page.  I was thinking about the stretching of a t-shirt as it is pulled on/off - each mark also represents the movement and the traction between body and fabric.  

Postcard 2 - Head - Sepia Ink and Watercolour pencils.  

I am interested in the head seen from below, the shapes are completely different. This study shows  calligraphic brushstrokes coalescing with the white of the page to form a head evoking a feeling of warm sun on one's face and the skin emitting its own radiance.  

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