Mernet Larsen's Preparatory Sketches Featured at The Armory Show 2017

At The Armory Show 2017, Various Small Fires presented a solo exhibition of preparatory sketches by painter Mernet Larsen in the Presents section. Based in Tampa, Florida, Larsen also had work displayed at James Cohan Gallery's booth during the same fair. Her artistic recognition has grown significantly following retirement from a notable career in art education, with faculty meetings becoming a recurring theme in her work. Larsen's practice evolved from earlier abstract explorations and studies of Japanese prints, developing into imagery that humorously conceals her deep interest in alternative perspective systems. She employs radical spatial approaches that reject traditional single-point perspective, instead utilizing parallel perspective, reverse perspective, and innovative combinations of multiple systems within individual pieces. This deliberate disruption of viewer positioning, sometimes creating vertigo-inducing effects, compels audiences to intellectually engage with depicted situations rather than passively observe them. One specific work shown was "Faculty Meeting with Wendy" from 2006, an acrylic on Bristol paper piece measuring 21 by 26 inches.