"When different elements of the painting always come to the fore through different light, it seems as if the painting comes to life. A three-dimensional depth is created that seems to move, like in an animated film including graphic elements and digital filters. I simply love colours and work with them purposefully - yet intuitively."
Stella Meris
Stella Meris (1990, born in Basel, Switzerland) is a contemporary painter and multimedia artist. Meris‘ large-format paintings document the experience of meditation and movement. They use strong neon colours and various materials like acrylic, egg tempera, oil pastels, edding, marker and spray to capture a bodily spatiality. They often lay down on the paper and playfully outlines their own silhouette. These shapes resemble the marking of fatal victims. Through the painting process, the anonymous person resurrects and begins to tell a story.
Stella Meris chooses elements like eyes, other body parts, teardrops, stairways and architectural forms on top of each other. A sacred space comes into existence. The figure is embedded in it and its inner world bonds with the outside.
The involvement with body and space comes from their interest in spiritual phenomenons. While looking for a non-dogmatic approach Stella Meris discovered their corporal sensibility. Meditative practices, consciousness-expanding movements and the focus on their own body perception accompanied the painting process and opened up new spaces. The big format is essential for transforming this experience into painting. The life-sized figures become a real counterpart for the viewer. The strong colours witness their liveliness.
Stella Meris studied at the Berlin University of the Arts and at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. In 2019, they graduated as a master student with Prof. Valérie Favre. Meris has won numerous awards, such as the Milan Mobile Film Festival (2018), the sponsorship award of the Maurer-Billeter Foundation (2020) and they are a scholarship holder of the Hans and Charlotte-Krull Foundation (2022) and the Atelier Deutsche Bank Scholarship (2023). Stella Meris has shown their works, performances and video works in solo and group exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, New York and beyond. Their solo exhibition "The Sun Above All" last summer (2023) at Gallery Melbye-Konan sold out immediately.
In the summer, Stella Meris will be part of the group exhibition "Mouvement" at the Galerie Melbye-Konan, which was conceived in close collaboration with the French consulate and the Institut français in Hamburg. The highlight will be the hosting of the French National Day 2024 in the gallery.