Marissa Voytenko

Tweet There is a poetic, vulnerable beauty found in the abraded surfaces and measured, almost-regular patterns of Marissa Voytenko's paintings. The tactile intimacy of her work functions like a whisper, drawing us closer with each subtle articulation. Voytenko considers herself a very orderly person who thinks in grids, so she appreciates how the encaustic medium pushes her beyond precision. Her work is typically centered around structures, squares, grids, blocks and towers, and occasional text and drawn images. While her influences are wide, her drive to create is often fueled by current psychological and ethical concerns in society Originally from a small agricultural community in Northern California, Marissa has traveled widely and lived for several years in western Ukraine. Always drawing as a child, she continues to create with joy and commitment. After earning a graduate degree in Fine Art and Teaching, she discovered the medium of encaustic. Its molten quality and mysterious effects were a good fit for what she hungered for in her work because it not only pushed against her desire for precision, it also opened up pathways for creative inquiry. Marissa uses her grid-like thought process and the liquid quality of the beeswax to create images with psychological meaning and depth. Marissa resides in Chicagoland with her young family and is an adjunct professor of Art at Wheaton College.