Riverside Chat with Artist Benny Merris

As part of the expanding Art Program, The Common Well has welcomed home New York-based artist Benny Merris for a solo exhibition and the lighting of new public artwork. Coinciding with Winter Solstice, IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD, came to life this December at The Common Well and features photographs from Merris’ ongoing series, An Other Another. IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD includes photographs Merris made this past summer in the Boise foothills, Boise River, Payette Lake in McCall and in Lost River Range, Idaho, during the 2017 total eclipse. Merris, who is based out of Brooklyn, New York, often uses an iphone to take his photographs and has long considered the iphone a lightbox. Not only does this exhibition mark his first solo show in his home state of Idaho, but it’s the first time he’s had his images turned into transparencies and displayed in a giant light box. The 2-story, former Culligan sign, is a lighted box that illuminates at night via a photocell making it visible from the adjacent highway where passersby can also see the Boise foothills in the distance. This exciting exhibition officially opened on December 5, 2024. The gallery portion closes on January 31, 2025, but the outdoor light box installation will remain up until December 2025 when it is replaced with the work of our next featured artist.