Marissa Smith

Artist Statement

I create paintings that explore memory, emotion, and the quiet moments that shape who we become. My work often reflects fragments of childhood and lived experience, especially the tension between what was felt then and what is understood now. Through intimate, sometimes unsettling imagery, I aim to capture the complexity of nostalgia—how it can hold both comfort and pain at once.

Working primarily in paint, I focus on atmosphere, symbolism, and personal narrative. Each piece is less about telling a clear story and more about evoking a feeling—something familiar, unresolved, or quietly haunting.