Josie Merck, “Weeds On Rails,” 2009, oil on canvas, 30×30″
Josie Merck, “Railside,” 2009, 11×12, mono print
In her solo show at Atlantic Gallery, Josie Merck continues to explore nature with a closer look at suburban, urban, and intimate landscapes. The new work is inspired by the scruffy landscape design of the recently-opened Highline park in Chelsea. “The newly designed ‘garden’ of the elevated park mimic the plants that chose to thrive there over the years of the railroad�s abandonment,” Merck writes. “Grasses, seed-heads, and ebbing blooms, along the old rails and ties are some of the references found in my new paintings.” This year Merck’s husband Jim Stevenson gave her a video camera. Check out this video she created about her process:
“Josie Merck: Weeds, Rocks, and Rails,” Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY. Through February 27.
