Marissa delves into simple shape and form to express the complex objects around us, refining them.
Marissa Weatherhead is primarily a painter of still life, though her artistic range also encompasses landscape work. Born in 1962, she studied at the Royal College of Art and Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, where she earned a first class degree in Fine Art.
Marissa's Artistic Approach
The starting point of Marissa's current paintings alludes to festivity and celebration of specific moments in time. She places seafood, fruit, and flowers at the center of her canvases, allowing them to evolve through a series of changes dominated by form, space, and composition. Rather than creating literal representations, she simplifies shapes based on our knowledge and understanding of objects. This approach enables her to play with visuals by flattening or fragmenting images, manipulating space and form through simple lines or blocks of color.
The Evolution of Weatherhead's Work
Often creating paintings in groups, Marissa's artistic process varies in pace from one canvas to another. The paintings that take longer to resolve reveal themselves through the buildup and layering of paint, as objects move around the canvas and forms change alongside colors until she finds resolution. This evolution is evident in the textures and marks that accumulate throughout her process. While her still life paintings show influences of Cubist works by Braque and Picasso, whom she greatly admires, her greatest inspiration comes from the more arabesque influence of Matisse.
Recognition and Exhibitions
Marissa Weatherhead has exhibited extensively throughout Ireland, England, and Europe. Her impressive exhibition history includes shows at The Wykeham Gallery, Panter and Hall, The Watermill Gallery in Scotland, and numerous other prestigious venues. Her talent has been recognized with several notable awards, including the Boise Travel Scholarship and the John Minton Award in 1988. Her work appears in the Arthur Anderson collection, and she has completed significant commissions, including "The Four Seasons" (14x10 feet) for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the Barbican in London. Additionally, she has participated in residencies across Europe and North Africa, including programs in Spain, Italy, and Morocco.