Marissa Girard is a talented artist whose work explores the intersection of nature and human infrastructure. Born and raised in Goffstown, NH, Marissa is currently a senior pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting degree at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester.
Marissa’s professors have encouraged her to explore beyond traditional landscapes, and she has been deeply influenced by the writings of philosophers such as Martin Heidegger and Immanuel Kant. Their ideas about the meaning of beauty have challenged Marissa to delve deeper into her work and explore the essence of this concept.
In her search for alternative materials, Marissa discovered the technique of mixing paint with cold wax medium. This unpredictable medium allows her to achieve the surface texture that she has always strived for, allowing her to layer sheets of color and create deep rifts in the surface of the paint. The combination of raw beeswax and oil paint perfectly captures the natural beauty and rawness that Marissa seeks to convey in her work.
Marissa’s paintings often explore the effects of human infrastructure on the natural world, juxtaposing the graphic, hard-edged qualities of roads, buildings, and other structures with the organic beauty of the natural landscape. Her work is both visually stunning and thought-provoking, inviting the viewer to consider the complex relationship between humanity and the environment.
