Mernet Larsen

Over six decades, Mernet Larsen (*1940) has playfully manipulated perspective within her paintings to reveal unsettling and humorous narratives that underlie ordinary situations. Over six decades, Mernet Larsen (*1940) has playfully manipulated perspective within her paintings to reveal unsettling and humorous narratives that underlie ordinary situations. Curator Veronica Roberts says of Larsen’s work, “the subjects and scenarios she depicts are typically banal: friends gathered in conversation, a couple reading in bed, and faculty meetings. Through unexpected compositional moves, however, she transforms these prosaic moments into psychological dramas that hint at the dislocations, disruptions, and dread that fill our lives.” This extensive, richly illustrated monograph features works of art from all stages of Mernet Larsen’s career, as well as an interview with the artist by Hans Ulrich Obrist, and essays by the curators Susan Thompson and Veronica Roberts.