38 Drawing

About Marie Tosto East Coast artist, Marie Tosto, has been formally honing her skills as an artist since 1986. Marie blends her dedication to her studio practice with the marketing, sales, and customer service skills she gleaned from working in the retail cosmetics industry. Surprised to learn how unexpectedly the two dovetail into creating a balanced art practice. Marie’s nonrepresentational imagery creates a narrative that is recognizable yet obscure. The catalyst for her vision is communication and boundaries. Dichotomy, tension, line work, color, humor, mood… these are the components used to invite the viewer to interpret the narrative for themselves. The underlying common theme is that mistakes are universal and essential for growth. When this becomes an expected part of the process, a safe place is provided for the inevitable and necessary missteps to occur. Which, in turn, allows the conversation to expand past simple academic applications and formalities. These are the tools that Marie uses for her practice to evolve. Knowing how to listen to the work is an exercise that Marie continually employs and teaches. Marie’s personal big picture goal is to have her reach be broad but her circles small. This is evidenced in her work. Outwardly transparent, her paintings and drawings are “abstract”, elegant, sometimes aggressive, curious, and… occasionally funny. Mysterious and enigmatic become the descriptors that finish the experience. Her work is accessible to all that find it intriguing. Yet, there is the sense that there’s more to the story that intentionally isn’t being revealed.