Meredith Morten (born 1950) is a sculptor living in Boston Massachusetts. Her work includes installations, performance and ceramic sculpture.
Mobius, Boston’s Artist-Run Center of Experimental Art in All Media, was the spawning ground for much of Meredith’s installation and performance work. An artist group member from 1988 to 2002 Meredith presented individual and collaborative works at Mobius and venues arranged through Mobius. Exhibitions independent of Mobius included installations presented at The DeCordova Museum (Lincoln MA), Dartmouth College (Hanover NH), Connecticut College (New London CT), Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg MA), Hera Gallery (Westport RI), Cultural Informative Center (Skopje Macedonia), among others. In 1996/97 and 1999/00 respectively Meredith participated in international exchange projects organized by Mobius: “Liquor Amnii” in Skopje Macedonia and Providence RI, and “Usvajanje Slobode/Taking Liberty” in Pula, Labin and Porec Croatia and Boston MA. Primary funding for these projects came from The Trust for Mutual Understanding and ArtsLink, a program of CEC International Partners.
A change in life circumstances necessitated leaving the artist-run Mobius group in 2002. During this period Meredith’s work gradually shifted from large-scale site specific and performed installations to smaller abstract ceramic forms. The thematic focus of her work likewise shifted, from sociological issues of contemporary America to socio-archaeological mysteries of Eastern and Central Europe. A name change delineated the process, resulting in two artist identities. Work prior to 2003 was created under the name Meredith Davis.
In February 2009 Meredith traveled to Hungary as a Fulbright Scholar on a five month Research grant. Her project, “Time Collapse: Contemporary Sculpture Inspired by Prehistoric Artifacts of the Carpathian Basin”, culminated in an exhibition of abstract ceramic sculpture presented as an installation at Museion in Kecskemét Hungary. The work will be exhibited at HallSpace (Boston MA) in 2011 to coincide with the TransCultural Exchange Conference.
Meredith was an artist-in-residence at the International Ceramics Studio (Kecskemét, Hungary) in 2009 (Fulbright) and 2007 (sabbatical leave). The Cornelia Endowed Fund and The Lighton International Artists Exchange Program, a project of the Kansas City Artists Coalition funded the 2007 residency (April – June 2007). In June 2008 Meredith was awarded a Kiln God Residency to work at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (Newcastle Maine), funded by The Archipelago Foundation. Other residencies include the Resen Ceramics Colony in Resen Macedonia (July 2003) and Kicevo International Art Colony in Kicevo Macedonia (July 2000), both invitational. Additional honors and awards throughout her career include the Carlos Dorien Faculty Development Fund (2005), Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006), Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Scholarship (1977, 1993, 1994) and a Massachusetts Artists Foundation Finalist Grant in Sculpture (1989).
A graduate of Connecticut College (BA cum laude 1972) and Massachusetts College of Art (MFA 1979), Meredith is a Professor at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly MA. She has taught in the Sculpture and Foundation Departments since 1993, and for eleven years served as Chair of the Sculpture Department (2000-2009, 1997, 1995). She has presented lectures about her work nationally and internationally (Wesleyan College 1996, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art 2008, International Ceramics Studio 2009, among others). Earlier teaching experience includes adjunct assignments at Massachusetts College of Art (1998) and Framingham State College (1995, 1993), and a faculty position at The Middlesex School in Concord MA (1975-80). Between 1987 and 1996 Meredith created sculptural sets for Paula Josa-Jones/Performance Works for dance works that premiered at Jacob’s Pillow (Becket MA), The Joyce Theatre (NYC) and Dia Art Foundation (NYC).
