Merrett works expand the field of traditional painting; working often on a large scale, the artist layers and pours water-based materials onto textile surfaces, the outcomes of which are impossible to anticipate. For Merrett writes, “It’s like magic when the unexpected starts to happen. I love it – it’s completely intoxicating. Each work has its own personality and therefore takes its own time.” Such alchemy might last days, weeks or perhaps months. In each case, the artist and works are always driven in part by their material exigencies but also by their conceptual sources drawn from literature, nature, community and activism.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Lara Merrett currently lives and works between Sydney and Bendalong, New South Wales. She studied painting abroad at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, before completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales and graduating with a Master of Arts (Painting).

Merrett’s recent solo and group exhibitions have been presented nationally and internationally, including at Goulburn Regional Gallery, NSW (2022-23); Town Hall Gallery, VIC (2022); University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane (2019); Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney (2018); Artspace, Sydney (2017); Swab Art Fair, Barcelona (2015); Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne (2009-10); Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Perth (2008); Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne (2006); Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria (2009-10, touring) as well as with Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong; Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane; Sumer Gallery, Tauranga, New Zealand; Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2014); and Kaliman Gallery, Sydney.

She has received various grants and awards including the Sense of Place Grant, Shoalhaven City Council (2023) and The Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize (2022). She has been commissioned for various projects including the St Regis Hotel in Chengdu, China; the Victorian Tapestry Workshop for St Michaels Church, Melbourne; the Sofitel Hotel, Melbourne and her work is held by collections of the University of New South Wales, Sydney; Bundanon Trust; Artbank, Australia; Royal Automobile Club of Victoria; and Macquarie Bank and UBS, Australia.