Marianne R. Petit: An Artist Focused on Intricacy & Accessibility

Marriane R. Petit is a New York based artist who will be showcasing her work at the Northampton Book Arts Fair this November. Her subject matter usually focuses on either anatomical study or fairy tales, and sometimes a combination of the two. Though she has a background in two dimensional work, her interest lies in three dimensional pieces, mainly non-traditional book formats such as accordion or pop-up. She also creates moving panoramas and optical paper crafts. The pieces showcased at this year’s fair include her 21st Century Nursery Rhymes Pop-Up Book, her book My Anatomical Journal, and The Wild Swans. 

Petit earned a Master's degree in printmaking, specifically intaglio etching, at New York University with Krishna Reddy, and later in life briefly went to school for nursing. With this history of her education, a viewer can understand where a lot of her pieces intersect with science and the body; many of her works are intricate depictions of the human form, such as her pop-up books that air on the side of medical drawings. Petit also incorporates extensive research into anything from real-life accounts of medical experiences to old optical illusions from the 15th century. With her background in printmaking (a trade which requires sharing a work space and making repetitions of one piece), the idea of community is integrated into her work simply in the ways they are dispersed; her goal is to make work accessible where it normally wouldn’t be. This is where technology plays a large part in her artistic process. Petit utilizes her iPad to draw, creating sketches that often look like woodcut prints. She takes technology further by then making her pieces available online for a much smaller price, the only difference is the mode of delivery. For example, she has turned complex pieces of hers into animations for viewers in the digital scape. 

Petit was a teacher at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and is now on the administrative team; her time as a teacher forced her to be out of her comfort zone in terms of technology and “keeping up with the times.” This position led her to using more and more tool sets, and inspired her to take her pieces online. She currently resides in Amenia, New York, but absolutely loves visiting Northampton. To see her highly detailed and intriguing work, visit the Northampton Book Arts Fair this November, or visit her website.

We hope to see you on November 21st, 5-8 pm and Saturday, November 22nd, 10am - 4pm at the Community Arts Trust at 33 Hawley Street, Northampton for the antiquarian book, ephemera, small press, and book arts fair. For tickets and info: www.northamptonbookfair.com

written by Hallie S. Krause, September, 2025