Christopher Meerdo (b.1981) is a Chicago based artist who works primarily in photography, sculpture, and moving image. Meerdo grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and spent time in Lithuania as a teenager. He is a recent recipient of an MFA in Photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His work has been shown in numerous locations including Nottingham, Seattle, Toronto, New York, and Chicago with recent and upcoming exhibitions at Gallery 400, The Hyde Park Art Center, Roxaboxen and Roots & Culture in Chicago. In February 2012 he will be attending the SIM Residency in Reykjavik, Iceland.
cmeerdo (at) gmail (dot) com
EDUCATION
| 2011 | MFA Photography, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois |
| 2003 | BFA Photography, Cum Laude, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan |
AWARDS/GRANTS/RESIDENCIES
| 2012 | Artist in Residence, SIM Residency, Reykjavik, Iceland |
| 2011 | Artist in Residence, ACRE, Steuben, Wisconsin |
| 2010 | MFA Artist in Residence, Ox-Bow, Saugatuck, Michigan |
| Teaching Assistant Fellowship, Department of Photography, University of Illinois at Chicago | |
| 2009 | Provost’s Award for Graduate Research, University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Teaching Assistant Fellowship, Department of Photography, University of Illinois at Chicago | |
| Individual Artists Grant, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Illinois Arts Council | |
| 2005 | Acquisitions Award, Biennial 23, South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, Indiana |
| Individual Artists Grant, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Illinois Arts Council |
SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
| 2011 | Stalemate, Roxaboxen Exhibitions, Chicago, Illinois |
| 2010 | Christopher Meerdo: Reiteraton, Harper College, Palatine, Illinois |
| 2007 | Transmedia:29:59, Year Zero One, video billboard at Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada |
| 2005 | NOW Festival, TV Sky, storefront projection, Nottingham, England |
| Christopher Meerdo and Joseph Reihsen, Damen Studio, Chicago, Illinois |
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| 2012 | Electric Darkness, SÍM Gallery, Reykjavík, Ísland |
| FAX, DeVos Art Museum, Marquette, Michigan | |
| Lossy, Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 2011 | Mouthing (the sentient limb), Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois |
| File Type, Gallery 400, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Hang In There, Curated by Jason Lazarus, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, Illinois | |
| UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition, Gallery 400, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Almost Legal: 17 from UIC MFA, MDW Fair, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 2010 | ArtPrize, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Union League Civic & Arts Foundation, Chicago, Illinois | |
| UIC MFA GOLD, NEXT Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 2009 | Aspect Ratio, Plaines Project, Chicago, Illinois |
| Over The Top, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Chicago Gardens: Past and Present, Chicago Tourism Center, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Response: Art and the Art of Criticism, I-Space, Chicago, Illinois | |
| The 2nd Annual Mary Beth Cregier Memorial Photo Exhibition, Around The Coyote, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 2008 | Faketure Short Film Festival, Beverly Art Center, Chicago, Illinois |
| 2006 | Fotowerks 2006, Flatfile Gallery, Chicago, Illinois |
| Experiment 400/5, Gallery 400, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 2005 | Biennial 23, South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, Indiana |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| 2011 | Julia V. Hendrickson, “Christopher Meerdo”, The California Printmaker |
| Amelia Ishmael, “Bodily Experience”, ArtSlant | |
| Nicholas O’Brien, “Center Field: Talking with File Type with curators Chaz Evans and Lorelei Stewart”, Art21 Blog | |
| Lauren Weinberg, “File Type at Gallery 400”, Time Out Chicago | |
| Jennifer Nalbantyan, “File Types: An Interview with Chaz Evans and Lorelei Stewart”, The Chicago Arts Archive | |
| Catherine Pancake, “F Gallery Visits: Gallry 400”, F Newsmagazine | |
| Laura Pearson, “Hang In There at the Co-Prosperity Sphere”, Time Out Chicago | |
| Steve Ruiz, “Curation as Art as Medium, Again”, ArtSlant | |
| 2010 | Michael Chevy Castranova, “Saugatuck’s Ox-Bow Celebrates 100 Years”, Kalamazoo Gazette |
| 2009 | Polly Ullrich, “Representing the Unsayable”, Response: Art and the Art of Criticism, catalog |
| Kathryn Born, “Response to Response”, Response: Art and the Art of Criticism, ArtSlant | |
| Dan Gunn, “Review: Response: Art and the Art of Criticism/I Space”, Newcity | |
| Claudine Ise, “Response: Art and the Art of Criticism”, Bad At Sports | |
| 2008 | Michael Weinstein, “Mary Beth Cregier Memorial Photo Exhibition”, Newcity |
| Thea Liberty Nichols, The 2nd Annual Mary Beth Cregier Memorial Photo Exhibition, ArtSlant | |
| 2005 | Margaret Hawkins, "Problem-solving artists aim high in 'Solution' Exhibition", Chicago Sun-Times |
| Trish Bendix, "Bad Habets Exposed", The Columbia Chronicle | |
| 2004 | Nina Metz, "The Skin's the Thing in 'Inked", The Chicago Tribune |
| Michael Workman, "Body Artist", Newcity Chicago | |
| Lee Ann Trotter, Metromix: The TV Exhibition, CLTV Chicago |