Justyna Korczynski | Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Marisa Suriano
Art teacher and York alumna Marisa Suriano is a painter who juxtaposes realism with abstraction within her work. She is currently working on a series of paintings where she manipulates acrylic paint to create unique abstract pieces.
Suriano has been influenced by the cubist art style in the past, and more recently, has been interested in the postmodernist movement. She describes her art style as a mixture of realism and abstraction, through an elevated yet childish process of painting.
“Anything can be art but not everyone can be an artist,” says Suriano. “Art nurtures the mind and the soul. It allows you to express yourself visually when you cannot verbally. It is an outlet that encourages creative thinking and abstract ideas. Art brings things to life on a daily basis so as an art teacher, it is my mission to instill a love for art in all of my students.”
Suriano attributes her high school years as a key developing stage for her as an artist. She decided to pursue art and teaching thanks to her high school art teacher, in hopes of inspiring future generations of artists. “As for teaching,” says Suriano, “I knew I loved sharing my artwork and my art knowledge with others so it was just fitting that I become a teacher.”
Even though she enjoys teaching, Suriano holds that she is a painter before a teacher. She plans to continue creating artwork on a weekly basis in order for her to properly teach students. She dreams of opening her own art studio and private art school one day in order to focus solely on developing students’ artistic creations.
“I want to inspire my students to embrace their many talents and understand how amazing art truly is.”
Suriano’s art has varied over the years, depending on her courses and the themes she was exposed to. Her recent artwork focuses on nature in its simplest forms. She has combined nature with her new art technique, which Suriano claims allows her to “explore art in ways I have never been able to.”
