Growing up with a Persian father and an American mother in New York City, Marissa's perspective was moulded in a western society with more traditional eastern ideas. This conflict of opposite cultures proved beneficial, as it was a driving force behind all of her work to date.

By throwing herself into different roles that were faced with extreme opposition, she could find true clarity in her own life. This search for self led her to ancient mosques, seedy strip clubs, high security prisons, and lost tribal villages of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Each new place gave her insights into her own personality - her defects, strengths, advantages, insecurities, and this in turn, added new dimension and human depth to her art.

Marissa received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Parsons School of Design in New York. She studied Art History at Lorenzo de Medici in Florence and at The University of Nice, Sophie Antipolis in France.

Marissa was inducted to the National Museum of Women in the Arts database in 2007, soon after her first exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York.

http://marissasoroudi.com/