Quinton Merada

Quinton Merada (b.1994, he/his) currently resides and works in Tacoma, WA but was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL. Being raised by a working class family, he developed an early connection and passionate bond with the disregarded. As a child, his father relied on labor unions to protect his rights, his job, and validate his worth as a worker. Merada received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with a specificity in sculpture from the University of Florida in 2018. While in college, it became abruptly apparent that the fruits of his family's labor were never truly recognized. This led to an understanding of his family's socio-political identity but also developed a deeper understanding of the artwork he manifests. Soon after graduation he had his first solo exhibition working title in 2018 at Depot Park (Gainesville, FL). He participated in a number of group shows before having his second solo exhibition, Sunshine City at the Morean Art Center (St. Petersburg, FL) in 2020. His most recent show was at the Port Angeles Fine Art Center (Port Angeles, WA) in 2022 with his work Maintaining Growth. In 2013, Merada won the American Visions Award and a National Silver Key with Distinction at Scholastics Art and Writing Awards (New York, NY). He also received Curators Choice in the This is me exhibition at the Morean Art Center (St. Petersburg, FL) in 2020. One of his most notable publications is in Dinner + No Show which was a published and printed book in 2018.

A captivation with the underbelly of society lies at the core of Quinton Merada’s conceptual sculptures and art practice. Utilizing found objects, his work displays an interest in the inherent histories and metaphorical significances of discarded objects and forgotten spaces. Merada’s practice mostly recontextualizes old, used and weathered tools in an effort to elevate and foreground the working class. While his artworks recognize the triumphs of the working class through maintenance and labor, much like the works of Mierle Laderman Ukeles, it also conducts critiques on the privileges of the wealthy elites. This is done by underscoring the intersection of labor and leisure with dark humor, irony, and absurdist perspectives which examine the class structures that dictate modern society. Unfortunately, in the United States, the working class has been repeatedly perpetrated with economic and social injustices. Although the new working class upholds this country’s integrity, it is consistently rendered invisible on social, economic, and political spectrums. The struggles, injustices, and histories of the working class have become the driving force of Merada’s artwork. His work seeks to provide appreciation and spark conversation in hopes of creating a more integrated society with living wages, and better working conditions for underprivileged groups.