Modern Eden Gallery is thrilled to let mermaids take over the gallery this May resulting in MERMAY! We’ve taken over the popular hashtag and have asked our gallery artists to do their most inspired interpretation of the mermaid theme.

Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa and Asia. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks and drownings. In other folk traditions, they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. Historical accounts of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus during his exploration of the Caribbean, may have been inspired by manatees and similar aquatic mammals. While there is no evidence that mermaids exist outside folklore, reports of mermaid sightings continue to the present day, including 21st century examples from Israel and Zimbabwe.

Mermaids have been a popular subject of art and literature in recent centuries, such as in Hans Christian Andersen's well-known fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" (1836). They have subsequently been depicted in operas, paintings, books, films and comics.

Featuring the artwork of Redd Walitzki, Kai Carpenter, Kelly McKernan, Sheri DeBow, Chuck Sperry, Glenn Arthur, Stephanie Law, Megan Buccere, Mary Syring, Jackie Gallagher, Kindra Nikole, Lara Dann, Marie Larkin, Jel Ena, Sybiline, Primary Hughes, Tracy Lewis, Julie Filipenko, Marie Eve-Proteau, Vahge, Paolo Petrangeli, Richard Ahnert, Amandalynn, Aunia Kahn, David Natale, Pippa McManus, Phillip Hua, Jessica So Ren Tang, Jessica Dalva, Michael Ramstead, Kurtis Rykovich, Erich J. Moffitt, Avery Palmer, Rich Pellegrino, and Sarah Stieber.