HM The Queen, 2022
"One of the greatest pleasures in establishing this gallery is to introduce Thomas Merrett’s work to other collectors and curators.
"The pleasure in Thomas’s work is in it vitality: it soars with energy whether in the charcoal line of his drawing or in the defined line of his bronze.
"His work has an elegance for sure but a deep affection and appreciation for his subject. So often, the power of the communication is in the clever poise. Naked or simply clothed, drawn from several angles all on one sheet, gestures become features, those movements are captured in a single and remarkable moment. All that is left is the humanity of the person.
"Thomas, whom I first met when I sat on a selection panel for The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, has a style and increasingly a language so very much his own. It is difficult not to see the classic influences on his work - Degas, Rodin, Moore, Chadwick - but when Thomas draws from this depth of tradition he is not bound by it and that, perhaps, is the is the destiny he will continue to explore.
"I know, like with children, you are not meant to have a favourite…".
- Nick Crean
December 2020