Lester Julian Merriweather
{{Short description|American collagist, painter (born 1978)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lester Julian Merriweather
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978}}
| birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
| education = Jackson State University,
Memphis College of Art,
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
| occupation = Visual artist, curator
| known_for = Collage art
}}
Lester Julian Merriweather (born 1978) is an American visual artist and curator, known for his collage. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.{{Cite web |title=Lester Merriweather |url=https://locatearts.org/artists/lester-merriweather |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Locate Arts |language=en}}
Biography
Lester Julian Merriweather was born in 1978 in Memphis, Tennessee,{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=January 17, 2023 |title=Lester Merriweather: Artist Profile |url=https://wearememphis.com/memphian-stories/lester-merriweather/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=We Are Memphis |language=en-US}} into an African-American family. He received a BA degree in 2000 from Jackson State University; and a MFA degree in 2002 from Memphis College of Art.{{Cite news |date=2004-12-02 |title=Merriweather featured in 'Work in Progress' |pages=34 |work=The Northside Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-northside-sun-merriweather-featured/126947033/ |access-date=2023-06-23}} Merriweather also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2002.{{Cite book |url=https://issuu.com/easttnstate/docs/detanglingcatalog |title=Detangling Unraveling, The Politics of Hair: Black Tennessee |publisher=East Tennessee State University |year=2020 |pages=18–19}}
In response to a lack of support and spaces for Black artists in Memphis, Merriweather, working alongside Frank D. Robinson Jr., Vitus Shell, and Jerry and Terry Lynn (or Twins) created the NIA Artist Collective in 2001.{{Cite web |title=The To-Do List: Giant bubbles, spooky films and Lil Buck |url=https://dailymemphian.com/Email/Article/31212/ArticleEmail/0?token=zNIPayKh7UqzjwppXmk2mA== |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Daily Memphian}}{{Cite news |date=2005-01-16 |title=News in the Arts |pages=64 |work=The Commercial Appeal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-news-in-the-arts/126947224/ |access-date=2023-06-23}} He worked as a curatorial director at the Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries at the University of Memphis.
In his early career he worked in painting and sculpture.{{Cite news |date=2003-08-28 |title=Preparing for exhibit |pages=57 |work=The Commercial Appeal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-preparing-for-exhi/126946528/ |access-date=2023-06-23}}{{Cite news |last=Koeppel |first=Fredric |date=2015-08-28 |title=Artists show works of creativity, morality |pages=40 |work=The Commercial Appeal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-artists-show-works/126946975/ |access-date=2023-06-23}} Merriweather's collage art is often made from fashion magazines and advertising.{{Cite web |last=Klaasmeyer |first=Kelly |date=October 20, 2005 |title=Capsule Reviews |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/capsule-reviews-6547325 |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Houston Press |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2014 |title=Art Review: Rococo bling in Lester Julian Merriweather's Colossus' |url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/arts/visual/art-review-rococo-bling-in-lester-julian-merriweathers-colossus-ep-502200009-324117151.html |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en}} He uses images that focus on racial prominence, and systems that perpetuate social privilege, and then the images are re-contextualized in the collage with the goal of dismantling stereotypes and confronting institutional racism.{{Cite news |last=Koeppel |first=Fredric |date=November 6, 2013 |title=Ocean of Bling: Lester Merriweather's extraordinary collage at Tops Gallery comments on history and culture |work=Go Memphis |url=http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2013/nov/06/ocean-of-bling/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104100556/http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2013/nov/06/ocean-of-bling/ |archive-date=2014-01-04}} He has exhibited his work at the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Poland. His work is in the museum collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art.{{Cite web |title=Lester Julian Merriweather, American, born 1978 |url=https://www.artsbma.org/artist/lester-julian-merriweather-american-born-1978/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Birmingham Museum of Art |language=en-US}}
See also
- List of African-American visual artists
- Sandra Payne (artist), another collage artist
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140709004556/http://www.memphisflyer.com/ExhibitM/archives/2014/01/01/qanda-with-lester-merriweather Q&A; with Lester Merriweather] (2014) from Memphis Flyer
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Category:21st-century American male artists
Category:21st-century African-American artists
Category:American collage artists
Category:Artists from Memphis, Tennessee
Category:Jackson State University alumni