Mercer Tullis

Mercer Tullis’s work explores existential themes in the context of contemporary life. Poignant and deeply affective, time suspends within his paintings and figures within seem to fold into themselves, engrossed in thought and reflection. There is an uncanny quality to his compositions, as the faces of figures depicted are hidden from the viewer as if to suggest we have entered into a realm of the subconscious, and have become privy to what is usually obscured. This is echoed by painting of transparent fabrics and substances throughout his work, which further emphasizes the notion of seeing through fields of the mind and consciousness. Texture and tactility are central to his work, as textures ranging from a wave breaking, to cold tile bathroom floors, worn leather couches, ripples in a swimming pool and creases on bed sheets are painted with incredible dexterity and delicacy that stir a haptic response from the viewer. Tullis utilizes the distinctive technique of working on gessoed plywood and creating his own frames, adorned with titles of the respective work. 

Mercer Tullis was born in 1994 in New York. Tullis began formally studying at the Art Students League in 2013, taking drawing classes under Robert Cenedella, whose studio was across the hall from the loft in which he was raised. Tullis's works are in the private collections of Neil Jenney and Larry Gagosian. Tullis has assisted artists, Neil Jenney and Julian Schnabel, and his work was included in the exhibition American Realism Today held at the New Britain Museum of Art in New Britain, Connecticut. Tullis lives and works in New York.