ARTIST:

Valerie Hegarty

Niagara Falls
Valerie Hegarty
Niagara Falls
Valerie Hegarty

For Valerie Hegarty, the joy of her work lies in its destruction rather than its making. Centring her practice on the politics of the American myth, Hegarty’s canvases and sculptures replicate emblems of frontier ethos - colonial furniture, antique dishware, and heroic paintings of landscapes and national figures only to demolish them by devices associated with their historical significance.

Cracked Canyon
Valerie Hegarty

In the pieces viewed here, Hegarty theatrically reconstructs ‘masterpieces’ based on works by Frederick Church and Thomas Moran from fragile materials such as foam-core, paper, and wood, before falsifying their ruination. Rotted and battered nearly beyond recognition, Niagara Falls literally pours from the wall as a twisted wreck; while Cracked Canyon is broken through with a seismic fissure running from the gallery floor to ceiling.

Through Hegarty’s eradicative intervention, her objects gain both formal and narrative authority. Capitalising on her highly attenuate subversion of materials, Hegarty’s work poses as artefacts of known history gone awry, envisioning an alternative world order of smug irony and poetic justice.

Still Burning
Valerie Hegarty
0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop

    Thank you for your enquiry!

    Your message was sent and one of our Admin team will respond as soon as possible.

    If you have an urgent question, please call our front desk on 020 7811 3070.

    For more information on how we store and use your data please view our privacy policy here. You can unsubscribe from our newsletters at any time by clicking on the links below the emails we send you.

    Essential Information Before Your Visit:
    Click Plan Your Visit for full information on upcoming closures.

    Register for email updates
    Be the first to hear about the latest Saatchi Gallery exhibitions, events, offers and news