Mary Garriques (Photo by Shawnee Custalow)
Peeling paint. A vine meandering across a painted wall. A close-up of a brick. These are some of photographer Mary Garriques’ favorite subjects. Looking at her photographs, the first thing that comes to mind is her uncanny ability to see beauty in the simplest of objects.
Asked what influences her work, Garriques (pronounced Gar’-rax, rhymes with “barracks”) points to art deco, shapes, colors, lines, contrast and “my grandfather, who was an extensive antiques collector.” Growing up just outside of Richmond, she looked forward to field trips to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. There, she found herself drawn to a painting by Mark Rothko — the American abstract painter known for his large rectangular fields of color. The simple shapes intrigued the budding young artist.
“Art is not always pristine,” Garriques says. “I appreciate the old, the rusted, the overlooked. Art can be found anywhere.”
Garriques has been taking photographs and making jewelry since childhood. In addition to being self-taught, she also self-identifies as a shy, nerdy type, prone to ADHD. Since opening her studio at Art Works, just south of the James on Hull Street, she says, “I’ve been trying to get the phrase ‘real artist’ out of my head.”
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Architectural details, digital print, 8 by 8 inches, $55 (Image courtesy Mary Garriques)
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Architectural details, digital print, 8 by 8 inches, $55 (Image courtesy Mary Garriques)
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Architectural details, digital print, 8 by 8 inches, $55 (Image courtesy Mary Garriques)
The recent pandemic has allowed Garriques to flourish, giving her space to sit and think about things. Her work does not address current social or political issues.
“I want people to enjoy my work,” she says. “I want to plant the seed to [get them to] slow down.” She has not given much thought to cultivating a collector base, and she says, "I don’t really collaborate. I never put myself out there — I like being alone.” Still, she makes annual visits to museums for inspiration, and she’s developing her Instagram page.
Garriques moved into Studio 160, her space at Art Works, in 2020 and has found that recent attention to her work “has validated it in a really good way.” So far, the only awards she has earned have been in bartending. She was the 2017 Bartender of the Year at Capital Ale House, where she has worked for 22 years, and she hopes to add awards for her photography to her portfolio soon.
Garriques’ work sells for $50 to $100, depending on the size of the print, and it can be found on Instagram, where her handle is @microrva, and at marygarriques.com.
