The evil genius of modern art and her barbaric masterpieces (40 photos)

Art is, by definition, about creation. But among the masters, although very rarely, there are those who try to show beauty through destruction. The American artist Valerie Hegarty is one of these.





Valerie was born in New York in 1967. She received an academic education and could well have received recognition by working in the classical style. But she moved on. She destroys each of her creations - she cuts, spoils, and covers them with paint. In this way, trying to draw the viewer’s attention to the fact that even something great and beautiful, created over centuries, can be destroyed in a second.



Valerie believes that creation without destruction is impossible. Just as there cannot be good without evil, life without death.

“Destructive paintings are just a tribute to respect and liberation. Ultimately, I am interested in the destructive path of progress and the hope for the possibility of transformation found in it,” says the artist.

She devotes her works – paintings, sculptures and installations – to the study of memory, place and history. Beginning with personal inspiration, Hegarty searches for poetic connections between his personal history, art history and current events. Hegarty enjoys the process of creating, using a range of different materials such as canvas, wood, foam, papier-mâché, epoxy resin and ceramics.

In her large-scale installations, Hegarty uses a process she calls “reverse archaeology,” where layers of painted paper are pasted onto gallery walls and floors and then scraped off to create a tangible memory of space.

Hegarty's canvases and sculptures, reproducing paintings and antiques from early American art history, are presented as destroyed by devices associated with their historical significance. Although representative, Hegarty's work contains surprising juxtapositions and uncanny transformations in which materials and meanings are constantly changing.



Multi-texture, eclecticism, a non-standard set of details - these are all Valerie’s favorite techniques. Some viewers get migraines from viewing the works, while others may stare at Hegarty's messages for a long time, trying to comprehend their meaning and message, which can be both obvious and elusive.