Spontaneous yet precise gesture characterizes Tanya Merrill’s wryly humorous figurative paintings that explore power dynamics while cheekily referencing art history. A Columbia MFA graduate, Merrill paints her series of cat still lifes, semi-nude women, and cinematic characters from her Brooklyn studio located in a repurposed bodega. Her painting of a domesticated horse rebelliously rearing up to escape its petrified owner The Reckoning (2017) was shown at New York’s Thierry Goldberg Gallery. She has participated in additional group exhibitions at major galleries including Almine Rech, Gagosian, Kasmin, and Half Gallery. Merrill often uses a combination of oil paint and oil stick on linen to imbue her work with the sketch-like marks of drawing.