statement

Drawing gives me the opportunity to truly see. As an artist, I do not casually observe my surroundings nor take them for granted, but rather view the world as a creator and architect of my own artistic vision. I have never been interested in simplification-on the contrary it's the complexities and how we see them that drives me to spend countless hours on a drawing. This act of drawing enables me to gain insight and understanding of intricate structure, whether it is a human figure, face, an isolated eye or a tempest of trees. Drawing pushes me to examine every aspect of what I see – every pore and hair follicle, every leaf and branch. I become immersed in my observational skills and depict my vision in a way that a casual observer could not.

Once a drawing is complete, it is no longer related merely to the artist, but becomes a starting point for the viewer's feelings and imagination. This alignment hopefully transcends the ordinary and the overlooked to something approaching the metaphysical and sublime. Photo-realism itself does not interest me in the least; realism does, details and textures do, ultimately seeing what others fail to see, until they see it in my work. When this is achieved, the collaborative relationship between the artist and viewer reaches its climax. Ultimately, and interestingly, the climax is a humble interpretation of the greatness of nature.

"A good "rendering" represents what a person sees, but "a work of art" illuminates what others do not."

bio

born: 1955, Remscheid, Germany

education

Delta College University Center 1980   

selected awards/honors

Grand Rapids Art Museum. top thirteen invitational ArtPrize 2012-2013
Birmingham Art Center 2012 Juried Exhibition Second Place  
ArtPrize top 25 2011
ArtPrize top 50 2010

selected publications

Manifest international drawing annual 1,5,6,8
Caprice Magazine February 2013  "Armin Mersmann"
Great Lakes Magazine October 2012 Armin Mersmann cover article
A Guide to Drawing from Observation by Deborah Rockman, Seven imges in book

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Newago Art Center Fremont MI. 2011
Richard App Gallery Grand Rapids MI, 2011
St Francis Universtiy Fort Wayne IN, 2010
Baylor University Waco TX, 2009

selected group shows

Mark Gallery,  Englewood NJ, 2013, 2012
Principle Gallery, Alexandria VA 2012, 2011
Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati OH 2010, 2009, 2008
Birmingham/Bloomfield, Gallery Birmingham MI, 2011,2010,2009