Merrilyn Duzy - Biography – July 2025
Growing up was an adventure and a challenge. We lived in semi-rural Pacoima, in the San Fernando Valley. I was born in 1946 to what was already a dysfunctional family. School became my big escape. I knew I was an artist from a very young age. I took care of my younger siblings, so my free time was reading and making art. That sense of self and purpose was my saving grace. Those early years of my family’s conflicts and my struggles became the source and impetus of my art.
My Visual acuity came early. One Easter, when I was three years old, I was given a basket of brightly dyed Easter eggs, and even now I see them vividly, brilliant blue, green, pink, and yellow eggs. I remember the cold, dark green walls of my parents’ bedroom and the warm green pepper tree in our front yard. The first box of Crayola crayons I received contained 64 magical colors, opening up a new world for me. I became enchanted by the night skies of mid-century Pacoima, with a canopy of shining stars that inspired my lifelong love of cosmic imagery and the wonders of the universe.
My Catholic upbringing sparked my spiritual self and became the impetus for my erotic art. Around the time of puberty, I discovered religious literature, where images of saints—bondage and ecstasy—became intertwined with my own body’s changes and awakening sexuality. From that point on, I developed a fascination with the erotic.
Despite financial challenges and personal turmoil, it took me ten years to complete my Bachelor of Fine Arts at California State University, Northridge. School remained a safe haven, and I am forever grateful for the many friends whose support helped me survive and thrive.
In the mid-1970s, the National Women’s Caucus for Art was formed in New York with regional chapters across the country. I joined the Southern California Chapter in 1976 and became President in 1980. For our National Conference in San Francisco, we created a performance titled “Women Artists Past & Present,” aiming to showcase the work of women artists and highlight their absence in art history texts.
Learning about these artists inspired me to capture on canvas what I had seen and experienced on stage, leading to my “Women Artists in History” series. This series features contemporary women artists portrayed in the costumes and settings of their historical counterparts. In 1982, I moved to the Tampa Bay area in Florida, where I created my illustrated lecture, “Walking Through History: Women Artists Past & Present,” which I have presented from coast to coast and in several other countries.
Returning to California in 1986, I resumed my art studies at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, earning my Master of Fine Arts in 1988. I continued to focus on portraiture but faced a shocking setback when my best portrait, that of artist Peggy Mosheim, was stolen off the wall during a graduate exhibit. This devastating experience left me unable to pursue figurative work for several years. I suppose I should have felt flattered that someone admired my work enough to commit a felony to own it, but I would have preferred they simply purchased it.
I turned inward and found a renewal of my spiritual side with “The Creation Series,” which includes the paintings “Rho Ophiuchus: The Mother of Newborn Stars” and “Back of Beyond.” This series led me to create large landscapes infused with a touch of eroticism, such as “Night Canyon,” which celebrates the sexual ritual of the sacred marriage between a god and goddess.
A few years after graduation, I resumed painting portraits, starting with one of Louise Bourgeois, whom I met during my work on the women’s erotic art book. She, along with many other artists I met during that time, became a lifelong friend.
In the subsequent years, I continued to paint, curate exhibitions, lecture on topics including the cosmos, erotica, spirituality, and women artists, and teach art courses—activities I still engage in today. I owe special thanks to my husband, Howard Bentkower, whose support allowed me to travel extensively around the world. Many of my vacations coincided with his work trips, and I have exhibited my artwork in even more countries. Experiencing diverse cultures through art and travel has provided me with the best education I could have asked for.
