BUCKHAM GALLERY
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Empty Road, Great Tornado | Emmett Merrill
December 9, 2022 - January 7, 2023

In Conversation: Emmett Merrill
Artist Statement 
Merrill’s work uses the lithographic process to create narrative prints which combine Americana imagery
with that of myth and legend. The prints deal with the emptiness of the American landscape, the
derivation of ghost stories and local legends, objects of Art History, and the culture surrounding the
highway system. The work also explores how time can move within a single visual space, similar to the
way hieroglyphs exist as a contained image, but can be read in the same fashion as words on a page.
Objects and foliage appear scattered along the ground in the works, as if a tornado whipped through a
gas station and a history museum and all artifacts landed together in the same field.

Exhibition Statement
The works are a series of visual ghost stories, each, in part, exploring the theme of the nature colliding
with human made spaces, like a deer bursting through the windshield of a car. Nature in this case, isn’t
just the idea of foliage, animals, or wide open landscapes, but also the presence of death. Deer along the
side of the highway manifest this ghostly symbol. Their eyes illuminate headlights at night, driving in the
dark, you can just barely make out their form in your peripheral as you speed by. Plus, it seems more
common that we see deer dead than alive, lying on the side of the road from where they came, victims of
our cars and freeways. Through out the series, ghosts are also personified as geese crashing into a
bathroom window, a figure with mismatched socks under a sheet, as well as mysterious footsteps in the
snow, walking away from someone who’s slipped beneath the ice. I think ghost stories are an exploration
of the uneasy feeling of the unknown, not just the cliche of not feeling alone in a dark room, but also the
excitement and anxiety of entering an unfamiliar building, landscape, town etc.
In his study of Kentucky folklore, “Ghosts Along the Cumberland” William Montell describes a farm worker
who claims to have come across the ghost of a cow he had put down the previous week. He sees it in the
field, goes to get his family, and when they return, the cow is gone. That’s the end of the story. I think the
works have a similar sense of "ghost story”. It isn’t really any kind of cautionary tale, but more a study of
the moment between someone in their day to day life experiencing the absurd, in whatever form. Then,
when they try and share it with someone else, that thing is gone.

Artist Bio
Emmett Merrill is an independent artist-printmaker hailing from Kansas City, MO. His
work uses lithography to explore topics including ghost stories, the American Highway
system, and art history. He is a collaborator with artist collective and fine art print shop,
Grafik House, where he self publishes his work. Merrill received his BFA in printmaking
from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville. His work is included in numerous public and private collections in the U.S.
and internationally, most notably the Library of Congress and the China Printmaking
Museum.
Buckham Gallery is funded by the following organizations:
Generous support is provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. 

Our activities are sponsored in part by an award from the MICHIGAN ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL  and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. 
​

This program is sponsored by the Greater Flint Arts Council Share Art Genesee Grant Program made possible by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work!
Picture
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  • Home
  • Exhibitions
    • November Exhibitions >
      • US | Teresa Dunn
      • New Work | Buckham Artist Collaborators
    • Contemporary Realism: Four Artist, Four Voices
    • In Conversation
    • Exhibition Opportunities >
      • Metaphysique
      • CLOSED: Press Play
      • PRESENTATION GUIDELINES
    • 2023-2024 Exhibition Season
    • Selected Past Exhibitions >
      • Early Fall Exhibitions >
        • Selected Works Tom Nuzum
        • Among the Folds | Tai Lipan
        • Llamáme Por Mi Nombre | Kiara Aileen Machado
      • Late Summer Solo Exhibitions >
        • Sunstroke | Denise Burge
        • We All Live Downwind | Shanna Merola
        • Bedside | Emily Orzech
      • Summer Solo Exhibitions >
        • In a Dream | Robert Beras
        • Nature is Healing | Maria Lux
        • Vocation as Vacation | Andrew Rider
      • June Solo Exhibitions >
        • Oasis of Symmetry | Aisha Changezi
        • Late Stage Block Party | Adrian Hatfield
        • Everted Sanctuaries: Exquisite Contortions | Ryan Lewis
      • April Exhibitions >
        • Sam Morello Selected Works
        • Small Works - National Juried Exhibition
        • Teeth & Hair - National Juried Exhibition
      • Late Winter Solo Exhibitions >
        • Tokens and Traces | Jeanne Ciravolo
        • Between Here and There | Kimberly LaVonne
        • A Reckoning in Pink | Danielle Mužina
      • January Solo Exhibitions >
        • Crawl Space | Guen Montgomery
        • Portraits of Home | Whitney Lea Sage
        • Interior Visions: Domestic Sphere | Stephanie Serpick
      • 2022-2023 Exhibition Schedule
      • 2022 Exhibitions >
        • Early Winter Exhibitions >
          • Empty Road, Great Tornado - Emmett Merrill
          • Nice Things for Nice People - Kate Snow
          • Recent Work - Michael Melet
        • November 2022 Exhibition >
          • Buckham Artist Collaborators
          • On Screen: A Showcase
        • Ojichaagwan Vessels- Guy Adamec
        • 101 Artists
        • Caution: May Contain Nudity >
          • Donovan Entrekin
          • Friends
        • Summer Exhibitions >
          • Heidi Brueckner
          • Craig Hinshaw
          • Michael Weigman
        • Early Summer Exhibitions >
          • Barriers & Preservers | Margaret Davis
          • Endless Endeavors | Benjamin Muñoz
        • BIPOC is The Theme! >
          • BIPOC Artists for Feature Exhibition
          • Viewing Room
        • Late Winter Exhibitions >
          • Dialectics and the Decommodified: The Spectres of Capital- Morgan Craig
          • Textures of the Southwest- Robert Huebel
          • All the Pretty Little Horses- Chris Waters
        • Small Talk >
          • Viewing Room
      • 2021 Exhibitions >
        • December Exhibitions >
          • Horizons | Emily Legleitner
          • Indexing Schizophrenia | Diane Zeeuw
          • Seeking Solace | Rebecca Zeiss
        • Black & White
        • Entropy >
          • Viewing Room
      • 2020 Exhibitions
      • 2019 Exhibitions
    • Art Money
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • B.Y.O.C.
    • Flint ARTWALK
    • 2023 Smallidge Lecture
    • Past Events >
      • Past Artist Talks >
        • Cider & Slides
        • 2022 Smallidge Lecture
        • Jan. 10, 2020: Artist Talks with Ardea Thurston-Shaine and Dominique Chastenet de Gary
        • Tommy Mintz, Nov. 2019
        • 2019 Smallidge Lecture
        • June 2019: Panel Discussion with John Dempsey, Guy Adamec, and Amy Gibas
        • May 4, 2019- Artist Talk with Stephen Halko and Nick Reszetar
        • April 13, 2019 ​Artist Talk and Deviant Life Drawing Session with Jeanine Leclaire
      • Open Mic
  • PROJECTS
    • BFAP: On Screen >
      • On Screen Artists
      • FAQ
    • BFAP: Interns
    • BFAP: Writer in Residence >
      • Jenifer Fernandes Veloso
      • Guest Writer Xzavier V. Simon
      • Bob Campbell
      • Natasha Thomas
      • Shea Phire Cobb
    • Collaborators at Karmanos
    • Emerging Artist with UM-F >
      • 2024 Emerging Artist Fellowship
      • Steven Banks
      • My Proulx
  • About Buckham
    • Mission Statement
    • Board and Staff
    • Buckham Arts Collective
    • Buckham Community Membership
    • Founders Feature >
      • FOUNDERS FEATURE: THOMAS NUZUM
      • Founders Feature: Sam Morello
      • Founders Feature: Ken Kinyon
      • Founders Feature: John Dempsey
      • FOUNDERS FEATURE: GUY ADAMEC
    • History
    • 2022 Annual Report >
      • 2021 Annual Report
      • 2020 Annual Report
    • News/Press
    • BAC 2023 - 2024 >
      • 2023-24 BAC Renewal
      • Bylaws
      • Policies
  • SUPPORT
    • 2022-2023 Annual Fund
    • 40th Anniversary Sponsorship Packet
    • WIR Support
    • Community Membership
    • Online Shop
    • Buckham Donors
  • Visit
    • CONNECT
    • Rent Buckham Gallery