Meris Drew

Biography

Meris Drew is an assistant professor of studio arts (painting) in the School of Art.

Drew previously served as a visiting assistant professor of painting at Indiana University Bloomington and a lecturer in art and art history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In 2020 she co-founded Racecar Factory, a gallery and exhibition space in Indianapolis, and served as co-director.

Drew’s paintings, like the swampy Floridian landscape where she grew up, are places where volatile organic systems crisscross with science, storytelling and magical thinking. Her work has been featured in recent solo exhibitions at Stellarhighway (New York), Fried Fruit (Wilmington) and Bottom Feeder Books (Pittsburgh). Recent group shows include those with My Pet Ram (New York), Platform x David Zwirner (online), Visionary Projects x New Collectors Gallery (New York), Brew House Association (Pittsburgh) and The Lodge (Los Angeles).

Drew is the recipient of a Bloomington Emerging Artist Grant from the Bloomington Arts Council and a Ringholz Foundation Grant. Artist residencies include a Bunker Projects Artist Residency in Pittsburgh, an Artlab artist residency at the University of Virginia’s Mountain Lake Biological Station and a Summer Rural Artist Residency from the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement.

Drew’s honors and awards include the Graduate Award in Support of Research and Creative Activity from Indiana University as well as the Reva Shiner Memorial Award and Chapter Career Award from the National Society of Arts and Letters in Bloomington.

Education

• M.F.A., Indiana University Bloomington
• B.A., New College of Florida