A Solo exhibition of new work by Marissa Weatherhead RCA
3rd October – 23rd November, 2025
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Marissa Weatherhead RCA is a leading British painter, trained at the Royal College of Art in London and at the Gloucestershire College of Art and Design where she obtained a first class degree in Fine Art. Now at the top of her game professionally in the height of her long career, we are honoured up in Scotland to be showcasing her luminescent still life work. This exhibition will be Marissa’s first solo show with The Watermill, though the gallery has followed her closely in the last few years, having exhibited her regularly in group shows. Marissa has worked assiduously to overflow the gallery with the fruition of a galvanised push to produce a great number of paintings celebrating the seasons, abundance and bountiful produce. Her collection shows the influence of many years of travel and the echo of residencies spent in Spain, Italy and Morocco.
“There is something so satisfying about Marissa’s work; the scale, the perfectly considered compositions, the building up of layers and the push between flattening and fragmenting images and depicting realism on a two dimensional world of her own. Marissa paints with an apparent joy and unpicks the traditional still life model. There are nods to Braque, Picasso and Matisse with a visual fluidity of line, knowing where to place the marks, a feeling of a Mediterranean holiday and the exploration of every day objects. These are not everyday objects of the mundane – these are subjects of fun, celebration, shared memories and optimism, knocked back with a glass of wine, the chase of a lemon and the party of a lobster. These paintings light up a room, make the viewer comforted with colour and a conclusive overflowing colourful compostition. In a time of worry, uncertainity and instense over analysis these paintings are a refreshing light hearted but atuned aesthetic relief.”
— Zanna Wilson, Watermill Gallery curator, September 2025
Upstairs in the new space some other regular Watermill artists will be exhibiting during Marissa’s downstairs takeover and a tree show – Sylvan – will emerge later in the Autumn.
Marissa Weatherhead RCA, Lobster Love, acrylic on board, 30x40cm, £950
Lobster Love
Friday 3rd October Private View
Nutmeg Caterers led by Deborah Ovens will be offering canapés in the gallery with Marissa and Zanna in an evening of appropriate Abundance and delicious seasonal food alongside some fizz and wine. It’s a chance to meet Marissa who will have travelled from Wincanton and on the Satuday 4th October during the daytime Marissa will offer another opportunity to share her practice.