Marissa Voytenko is an abstract encaustic painter whose work explores relatable psychological themes through a framework of grids and squares. Marissa is the recipient of the Alden B. Dow Solo Exhibition Award from the Dow Museum of Art and Science in Michigan. She is represented by galleries throughout the United States and has exhibited her work Ukraine. Born and raised in northern California, Marissa has travelled widely and lived for various stretches of time in Italy, Belgium, Austria and Ukraine. She received her BA in Art from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California and Master of Fine Art from Boston University. Marissa currently lives and works in Chicagoland together with her husband and two young children. ARTIST STATEMENTAs an encaustic painter, I have come to appreciate and enjoy the way the hot wax pushes me beyond precision. I am a very orderly person and I think in grids. Much of my work is centered around structures - squares, grids, rows or columns - and occasional text and drawn images. When I begin creating, I am very organized as I map out my composition in a grid formation. Sometimes, the grid is comprised of pieces of paper and sometimes the grid is drawn. As the work progresses, my decisions become more intuitive and less thought out and, therefore, more expressive and painterly. I use an adding and subtracting method of painting: I build up several layers of paint and then scrape them away to reveal what’s lying beneath the surface. The imagery in my work is abstract and usually carries a narrative or metaphor. I pull inspiration from a myriad places and experiences but often the drive to create is fueled by a present circumstance that I am mulling over in my inner psyche.