At first when you look at a Valerie Hegarty work, you may think, “Who put bullet holes through that art?!” or “What sick bastard was in charge of restoring that?”

The answer to both of these questions is Valerie Hegarty. She has the same spirit in making art as children dressing themselves for the first time. To some it looks like a complete and utter mess, and to others, it looks like a masterpiece.

Having two first generation American parents meant that Hagerty grew up in a household that had “a romanticized vision of America.” Their house was decorated with “patriotic ephemera, from Revolutionary War rifles to a Paul Revere tea set.” As a child Hegarty though it was super chill but as she got older she realized that all of their decorations were fake and likely bought from the home goods section of Walgreens. And this is where her artistic journey began. Hegarty got her B.A. at Middlebury College, her B.F.A. at the Academy of Art College, and her M.F.A at the Art Institute of Chicago. It took three degrees for her to figure out that, “[she] like[s] when half of the work is beautiful and in the other half it is a quick spiral downward.” Her parents were thrilled.

In terms of describing a general vibe of Hegarty’s work, there is none. She does things like put baby teeth on watermelon rinds, make crows and woodpeckers that look like they are destroying her work, and sculpts fruit to look like vagina tongues. Well I guess “creepy” would suffice as a general vibe word. It’s quite the hodgepodge of materials and inspirations and we’re not not into it.