Eugenio Merino

EUGENIO MERINO (Madrid, 1975).
8" Qee hand painted and with pin with the US flag. Unique and exclusive piece.
Signed.
With Toy 2R die-cut stamp on the base.
Measurements: 22 x 13 x 10 cm.

In 2012 Swab Barcelona presented the charity project against AIDS, Swab Toy by FLS, in collaboration with the "Lluita Contra la Sida Fundación Lucha contra el SIDA". The project involved 100 artists and designers who made an artistic intervention on an 8" DIY QEE. The toy in bidding is, therefore, a personalized, unique and exclusive piece hand-painted by Eugenio Merino.

Qee is a line of designer dolls created by Toy2r's founder and president, Raymond Choy. Born in 2002 in Hong Kong, Qee has revolutionized the world of design, introducing contemporary art into the vinyl toy market. Under the slogan "Everyone can design", Choy's identifying idea has brought together the creations of important artists from all over the world, from Eugenio Merino, Emilio García, Albert Pinya or Elenza Monzo, to Chu Uroz, Manuel Ocampo or Max Ripo. In this way, each artist captures on these dolls -a particular "3D canvas"- his or her way of understanding the world. These curious characters are available in various sizes including 1.5", 2.5", 8", 16", 36" and the 60" Qee. Toy2r also provides D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) Qees for aspiring designers. They are articulated, as they move the head, arms and legs. Since its birth, Toy2r has received numerous internationally renowned awards around the world, becoming a leading firm in design toys.

Eugenio Merino is, above all, known for the controversy he creates with his works: from the "Suicide Jaffar" of the exhibition "Mondolirondo" in 2006, to the installation "Starway to heaven", through "Always Franco" (presented at ARCO) or "For the Love of Go(l)d". He began working in painting, with works of less content than the current ones (according to his own words, the turn in his career was due to boredom with the same processes and not feeling anything as a spectator of his own works). Showing his political work, typical of a creator who, conditioned by his time, transfers his social ideology to his hands and from there to the sculptural work that splashes the viewer (as it should be). With a degree in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid, he has had solo exhibitions at Unix Gallery (Houston, USA), Unix Fine Arts (New York, USA), ADN Galería (Barcelona, Spain), Jerome Zodo Gallery (Milan, Italy) and Louis 21 (Madrid, Spain), among other venues. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions and has participated in a variety of art fairs, such as Volta NY, Volta Basel, ARCO (Madrid). Art Brussels, FIAC (Paris), Armory Show, Arte Fiera (Bologna), Art BO (Bogota), MACO (Mexico), Art Wynwood (Miami) and has exhibited at the MOCA Museum in Taipei and the BPS22 in Charleroi (Belgium).