Armin Mersmann
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Armin Mersmann was born in Remscheid, Germany, in 1955. Along with his parents, he immigrated to the United States in 1962. He grew up in an artistic environment and was greatly influenced and tutored by his father, Fritz, a successful oil painter. Mersmann feels his career as an artist was inevitable: “I never made the conscious choice to be an artist, it’s just what I did.” After six years of college, Mersmann began a very successful stint as a portrait artist in Chicago, IL. Although commission work was financially rewarding, he stopped doing it and soon found more interest in the fine arts—work that at times is controversial but more satisfying conceptually. “Art, my sanctuary, the very thing that gave me such pleasure, was now reduced to making a living. Art is too precious for me to make decisions based on finances.” This does not mean Mersmann will never do a commissioned portrait; rather, it has to interest him conceptually, and he insists on total control over the image.
Although Mersmann is mainly known for his intense naturalistic graphite drawings, he also works in photography and encaustic wax, which is much more abstract than his drawings. “My interests have become exceedingly experimental with more attention placed on the surfaces of the work itself. Discovering and rediscovering my chosen medium is the everlasting stimulus that keeps me interested and excited. Accidental process and meticulous planning co-mingle in all my work. Texture, either real or illusionary, and that one ever-elusive brushstroke, the one that says it all; this keeps me searching and exploring.” Mersmann has taught drawing and the creative process at the American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL; the Colorado Academy of Art, Boulder CO; Northwood University, Midland, MI; the Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI; and countless workshops within the United States. He lives in Midland, MI, where he is the Artist in Residence and Art School Manger at the Midland Center for the Arts. He shares a studio with his wife, Valerie Allen, who is an accomplished artist in her own right.
Selected Exhibitions (there are hundreds of Group/Juried Exhibitions that are not listed) Prairie State College, – Chicago, IL Alma College, – Alma MI Northwood Gallery – Midland MI Saginaw Art Museum – Saginaw, MI Mark Gallery - Englewood, NJ Studio 23, Midland MI Principle Gallery - Alexandria VA BBAC - Birmingham, MI Manifest Gallery - Cincinnati, OH Midland Center for the Arts, Midland MI St Frances University - Fort Wayne, IN Richard App Gallery - Grand Rapids, MI Eastern Illinois University - St Charles IL Buckham Gallery - Flint, MI Baylor University - Waco, TX Left Bank Gallery- Flint MI Eastern MI College – Ypsilanti, MI Central Michigan University - Mt Pleasant MI Southwestern Michigan College - Dowagiac MI Northwood Gallery – Midland MI American Academy of Art – Chicago IL Kline Gallery – Santa Fe, NM Evanston Art Center – Evanston IL East/West Gallery – Chicago IL Woman’s Made Gallery – Chicago, IL Trenton State College – Trenton, NJ
ArtPrize History
ArtPrize is an international art competition held in Grand Rapids It is unusual both for the large size of the top prize ($200,000, combined with other prizes cumulatively amounting to $560,000), as well as for the method of judging entries. Every year it hosts around 1800 artists from all 50 states 50 countries and has 400,000 visitors
ArtPrize 8, 2016 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Center Fifth Place
ArtPrize 7, 2015 Grand Rapids, MI Calvin College
ArtPrize 6, 2014 Grand Rapids, MI Amway Grand Forth Place
ArtPrize 5, 2013 Grand Rapids, MI the B.O.B. Top 50
ArtPrize 4, 2012 Grand Rapids, MI the Spot. Top 100
ArtPrize 3, 2011 Grand Rapids Art Museum Top 25
ArtPrize 2, 2010 Grand Rapids Public Museum Top 50
ArtPrize 1, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI WMCT Top 50
ArtPrize Encore2013 Grand Rapids Art Museum 2013-2014
ArtPrize Encore2012 Grand Rapids Art Museum 2012-2013
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