Valerie Hegarty Analysis

Valerie Hegarty born 1967 is an American artist known for paintings, sculptures and installations that critically engage with art history, evoking specific canonical works and artists or violating the sanctity of the modernist gallery and divisions between artistic mediums. Her trompe-L'oeil style realistically imagines the impact of natural and man-made disasters on treasured cultural objects as a way of considering the darker side of American society and the damages wrought throughout its history. In producing these works, Hegarty uses painterly techniques and carving to mimic fire, water, guns, and a variety of natural forces such as earthquakes and woodpeckers to distress her carefully constructed fictitious objects.