2005 GHS Grad Marissa Girard Presents First Solo Exhibition

The Framers Market, 1301 Elm Street, Manchester, will be hosting "Caged In", the first solo show for Marissa Girard.  A Goffstown native, Girard is a 2005 graduate of GHS, and earned a BFA in painting from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. 

Still living in Goffstown, Girard took “every art class imaginable” at GHS and says, “I would not be where I am right now without all four art teachers.  A lot of the opportunities that were presented to me, like Art Honors and the All State Art Program, were open to me because the teachers at GHS were active in those programs.  Their hard work gave me an edge, they helped me with paperwork and guided me in the right direction.”

After graduating high school, Girard spent one semester as a Presidential Scholar at the Maine College of Art in Portland, but chose to return to the Art Institute in Manchester.  “The Art Institute was everything my teachers had said it was!  I looked at people from other schools and realized how lucky I was to have had the opportunities I was given at GHS.”  Graduating Magna Cum Laude as a Fuller Scholar in 2010, she continues to live and work in Goffstown.  

 In “Caged In”, Girard mixed paint with cold wax to achieve a unique layering of color and surface texture.  Her subjects are the cold, straight edge of power lines against the soft, natural beauty of the landscape.  The results are striking, with color and form pulling the viewer into the depth of the scene.  Working exclusively with palate knives, Girard explained the complex nature of the wax.  “It’s a mix of bee’s wax and mineral spirits.  It can’t be controlled, the wax has a mind of it’s own and I like it that way.  It has the consistency of frosting, so you have an idea where you want to go, but it’s not precise.”

“I think I’ve become more aware of what I feel is appealing, and what I think is attractive.  I started out concentrating on realism, getting everything absolutely straight and perfect.  Using photos, I tried to paint exactly what was in the picture.  Eventually I began to look at the different patterns and saw the flow and the contrast.” 

“Caged In” will run from June 23 through July 23 at The Framers Market. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 9:30-6:00 and Saturday 9:30-4:00.