Lori Merhige was born in 1975 in New Jersey; she currently lives and works in Beacon, NY. She received her BFA degree in Illustration from NYC's School of Visual Arts in 1999 and went on to a brief career in commercial art. In 2001 she took over the ownership of her family business in lace and textile manufacturing. She studied sculpture and metal foundry at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and began to integrate the materials and byproducts of the embroidery industry into her work. Her recent work is concerned with “the organic origins of power and how we often create and support the systems that aid in our own oppression.” In late 2009 she completed her MFA degree in Sculpture at CUNY Hunter College and was a recipient of the Tony Smith Award.
