Betty Merken    Images  |  Bio


EDUCATION

Crown Point Press, San Francisco, CA; residency workshop in printmaking
University of Washington, Seattle, WA; B.A. Arts Education
University of California at Los Angeles; graduate work in art
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC

ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS

The Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2004, 2006, 2010
Melissa Morgan Fine Arts, Palm Dessert, CA 2010
Sears-Peyton Gallery, New York, NY 2010
Seattle Art Museum, TASTE Cafe, Seattle, WA 2009
Argazzi Art, Lakeville, CT 2009
Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA 2006
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2005
Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005
Sears Peyton Gallery, New York, NY 2003
Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR 1998, 2000, 2001
American Institute of Architects Gallery, Seattle, WA 1999
Seattle Pacific University Gallery, Seattle, WA 1997
Takada Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1997
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1996
ACT Theatre Gallery, Seattle, WA 1994

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

The Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
Argazzi Gallery, Lakeville, CT 2009
“Invitational Exhibtions,” Sears Peyton Gallery, New York, NY 2009
“Hospitality House 25th Invitational Art Auction,” Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2009
San Jose Institute of Conemporary Art Invitational Art Auction, San Jose, CA 2009
“Invitational Exhibition,” Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA 2008
“Invitational Exhibition,” Julie Nester Gallery, Park City, UT 2008
Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, FL 2007
“10th Anniversary Invitational Exhibition,” Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2007
“20th Anniversary Group Show,” The Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR 2006
“Works on Paper,” Shenzhen Institute of Contemporary Art, Shenzhen, China; catalogue 2006
"Los Angeles International Art Exposition, Los Angeles, CA 2004, 2006
Miami International Art Fair, Miami, FL 2006
Gerald Peters Gallery, Dallas, TX 2005
"Art Chicago in the Park," Belloc Lowndes Gallery, Chicago, IL 2005
"Art LA," Dolby Chadwick Gallery, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA 2005
"Hospitality House Invitational Art Auction," Haley Martin Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2005
"Henry Gallery Invitational Art Auction," Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA 2005
"San Francisco International Art Exposition," Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
San Francisco Art Institute Invitational Auction, San Francisco, CA 2005
Affordable Art Fair, New York, Dolby Chadwick Gallery 2005
J. Johnson Gallery, Jacksonville, FL 2004
“Innovative Printmaking,” Seattle Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery, Seattle, WA; invitational 2004
“Pratt Fine Arts Instructors’ Juried Exhibit,” Seattle Art Museum Rental Sales Gallery, Seattle, WA 2004
"Hospitality House Invitational Art Auction," Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2004
“Affordable Art Fair,” Pier 51, New York, NY; Sears Peyton Gallery, New York, NY; Dolby Chadwick
Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2003
“Works on Paper,” Goya-Girl Press and Contemporary Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD; national juried print
exhibition 2003
“Los Angeles Printmaking Society 17th National Exhibition,” The Armory Center for the Arts,
Pasadena, CA; catalogue 2003
Headlands Center for the Arts Invitational Auction, Marin Headlands, CA 2003
“Masters of the Print,” 416 West Gallery, Denison, TX; international juried print exhibition; Honorable
Mention 2002
“The Art of Monotype,” Rental Sales Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA 2002
“Affordable Art Fair,” Pier 51, New York, Sears Peyton Gallery, New York, NY 2002
Faculty Exhibition, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 2002
“Art for AIDS,” Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, CA; invitational auction 2002
“Works on Paper,” Park Avenue Armory, New York, Sears Peyton Gallery, New York, NY 2001
Hospitality House Invitational Art Auction, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2001
"Patina and Surfaces," Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID 2001
"Seattle Art Museum Talent," Staff Exhibition, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA 2001
Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR 1999
Y2 Bash Invitational, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 1999
Seafirst Gallery, Poncho and Pratt Exhibit, Seattle, WA (invitational) 1997, 1998, 1999
Art for AIDS, Seattle Art Museum Art Pavilion, Seattle, WA (invitational) 1999
Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (invitational) 1996
“Celebrate Northwest Women ’96,” Wiseman Gallery, Rogue Community College, Grants Pass, OR
(catalogue) 1996
Takada Gallery, San Francisco, CA (two person exhibition) 1996
“Folie ‘a Deux,” Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (invitational drawing exhibition) 1995
Takada Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1995
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1994
Grover-Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA (two person exhibition) 1994
Faculty Exhibition, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1994
Warwick Gallery, Seattle, WA 1993
“The Legacy: Women Painters of the Northwest,” Western Washington State University Gallery,
Bellingham, WA (invitational) 1992
“Northwest International Art Competition,” Whatcom Museum of Art, Bellingham, WA 1992
Faculty Exhibition, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, WA 1991
Faculty Exhibition, The Art Institute of Seattle, Seattle, WA 1990
“Annual One Two Exhibition,” Security Pacific Gallery, Seattle, WA 1990
“Taking Liberties,” Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, CA 1988
“Orange County 8th Annual,” Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA 1988
“L.A. Artists: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture,” Jewish Federation Council Galleries,
Los Angeles, CA 1987
“At Kouros,” Kouros Gallery, New York, NY (invitational) 1984
“Artists Call,” SPARC Gallery, Venice, CA 1984
International Gallery, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo (invitational) 1983
“California Bookworks,” The Otis Art Institute Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1983
Downey Museum of Art, Downey, CA 1982
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (invitational) 1981

COLLECTIONS

Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, CA
Alza Pharmaceuticals, US Corporate Headquarters, Mt. View, CA
Ana Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
Apax Partners, San Francisco, CA
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc., New York, NY
Bellevue Towers, Bellevue, WA
Boeing Company, Chicago, IL
Bon Marche, Seattle, WA
Brereton Architects, San Francisco, CA
Bullock’s, Los Angeles, CA
Charles Schwab, Boston, MA
Chicago Conrad Hilton, Chicago, IL
Chubb, Inc. San Francisco, CA
Crain Communications, Detroit, MI
Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA
General Electric, Brussels, Belgium
Georgina Rice and Co., San Francisco, CA
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Goldman Sachs & Co., San Francisco, CA
Grunwald Center for Graphic Arts, UCLA Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Hallmark Cards, Inc, Kansas City, Missouri
Harbor Benedetti, Los Angeles, CA
Harbor Court Hotel, San Francisco, CA
Henry Ford III Collection, Detroit, MI
Hewlett Packard Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Hyatt, Chicago, IL
Industry Club, Tokyo, Japan
Intercontinental Hotel, Houston, TX
Kell Capitol, Stamford, CT
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Marcus and Millichap, Palo Alto, CA
Marriott Desert Ridge Hotel, AZ
Neiman Marcus Corporation, Dallas, TX
Nokia, Mt. View, CA
Nordstrom, Seattle, WA; Scottsdale, AZ; Costa Mesa, CA; Palo Alto, CA
Norwest Venture Partners, Palo Alto, CA
Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
Palazzo, Resort, Las Vegas, NV
Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Pfeizer, Inc., New York, NY
Redwood Trust, Inc. Mill Valley, CA
Scios, Inc. Fremont, CA
Sebastian and Sons, Napa Valley, CA
Sheraton Singapore Hotel, Presidential Suite, Singapore
Spear Street Capitol, San Francisco, CA
UCLA Medical Center, Neuroscience Center, Westwood, CA
United States Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
URS Corporation, San Francisco, CA
Venetian Resort, Macau, China
Wentworth Hauser and Violich, LLP, San Francisco, CA
Westin Maui Hotel, Maui, HI
Westin Kauai Surf Hotel, Kauai, HI
Westin Times Square, New York, NY
Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, GA
Wolfgang Puck Café, Tokyo, Japan
ZAK Architecture, San Francisco, CA
And numerous private collections

AWARDS, WORKSHOPS AND RESIDENCIES

BAU Institute Arts Residency, Otranto, Italy (Upcoming)
Crown Point Press, San Francisco, CA, Etching workshop
Milnora Roberts Fine Arts Scholarships, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Scholarship, Deer Isle, ME
Penland School Scholarship, Penland, NC
Honorable Mention, “Master of the Print,” Exhibition, 416 West Gallery, Dennison, TX
Exhibited with Robert Rauschenberg, Matisse, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Jim Dine, Sol Lewitt.
Curated by Leonard Lehrer, printmaker and Director, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Instructor, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA 1999-2004, 2009
Instructor, Seattle Art Museum Art Studio Program, Seattle, WA 1989-present
Instructor, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 1980-present
Instructor, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA 2005
Instructor, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, WA 1989-2001
Instructor, The Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA 1980-1989
Instructor, Los Angeles Pierce College Art Department, Los Angeles, CA 1980-1981
Instructor, Seattle Pacific University Art Department, Seattle, WA 1976-1979
And various guest lectures and seminars across the country

PUBLICATIONS

“Review: Solo Exhibition, Argazzi Art, Lakeville, CT,” Lakeville Journal,
September 3, 2009
“Review: Solo Exhibition, Argazzi Art, Lakeville, CT,” Lakeville Journal,
February 2009
“Luxury towers put finishing touches on model homes,” Eastside Living, Bellevue, WA, November 1, 2008, pp. F8-9
“A Common Language”. Catalogue. Essay .Shenzhen University College of Art and Design, Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China, August 2007
Koppman, Debra, “ Mary Josephson and Betty Merken,” Artweek, March 2006
Harris, Chloe. “Home is Where the Art Is,” Design (San Francisco), November 2005, pp. 112-123
Johnson, Robert Flynn. "Twelve on Twelve," exhibition catalogue, Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museums of San
Francisco, 2004
Giuliano, Mike. “Paper Cuts: Goya-Girl's National Show Chases Down the Sharpest Works on Paper,"
City Paper, Baltimore, MD, January 29, 2003.
Salatino, Kevin. "Juror's Statement," Los Angeles Printmaking Society 17th National Exhibition, exhibition
catalogue, The Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA, 2003
Glowen, Ron. “Betty Merken at AIA,” Artweek January 2000.
“Help for the Color Disassociated,” Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce Architecture and Design Issue, 1998
“Shades of Life: The Color Consultant and the Built Environment,” Seattle Daily Journal ofCommerce Architecture and Design Issue, 1997
Anderton, Frances. “The Gallery Strikes Back,” The Art Newspaper, London, England, No. 61 July-August 1996
Merken, Betty and Stefan. Wall Art. Running Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1987; 128