"In addition to collecting, Merck is a significant supporter of institutions both in Florida and further afield. Since 2017, he has served on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, an invaluable resource that preserves and provides access to artists' writings, correspondences, research materials and other documents. In 2022, he was elected board chair, the youngest person in the archives' history to hold that position."
"Merck has said that he sees a formal affinity between many of these works-defined by artists' use of industrial materials like Plexiglas and urethane, and the play of light on their highly polished or translucent surfaces-and the Florida surfing and beach communities in which he grew up."
"The first work I acquired was an SMS (Small Mirage Study) work from 2000 by Larry Bell. It was an inception piece for me, as I now have 11 works by the artist; each body of work is exceptional to me."
Collection
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