After thirty years making art, Liz Maugans is taking an inventory of her life and transforming her experiences into new print based collage work titled “Beautiful Mess,” opening on June 21 5-9pm at HEDGE Gallery. 

The most fascinating aspect of this exhibit is that Liz has used almost all repurposed materials to create her multi-layered work. The abundance of printed remnants, or what she refers to as “visual leftovers from her share of accumulated failures”, are the basis for many of her new pieces. These printed elements, combined with grocery bags, sympathy cards, letters, photos and other ephemera from her past and her family’s past, produce revelations for the artist and viewer that are both beautiful and painful.

Liz’s narratives as mother, wife and daughter surface in “Beautiful Mess” initiating commentary on parenting struggles, financial instability, declining health, changing/losing a job, aging and other curve balls life throws. After losing her mother, brother, and some very dear friends in the past year, Maugans is examining her role as an artist and the caretaker for their memories. Her poignant new work explores the emotional and psychological impact of life altering decisions and experiences; the covering up, the revelations, the recipes for living.