Mary Koenen Clausen

Mary Koenen Clausen’s mixed media collages are rich in texture and image. Her works frequently are comprised of three visual fields or planes: the heavens, earth, and underworld. Figures composed of mismatched heads and bodies float among animals, icons, musical notes, and foreign texts on backgrounds thickly painted in vivid colors. Mary sees the musical notes, symbols and foreign text, some of which she reproduces in her own hand, as messages emanating from her spiritual guides as she channels energy from other dimensions.

Mary says of her process: “Collage is a matter of refining design. I sit with the pieces scattered around me and they come together. I always think in terms of layers. I don’t treat collage differently from painting.” She gathers her material from Italian magazines, 17th and 18th century Bibles, antique books, among other sources. Mary also uses photographs of her surroundings in her work. Her home and studio are full of paintings, photographs, wall hangings, dolls, and other collected objects, an environment that reflects the complexity of her work.

Artist Statement
“Since childhood, I have refined a lensing system that has permitted my access to a specialized kind of knowledge.

At about five years o...

University of N Iowa, Cedar Falls. B.F.A.

"Unwrapped", ArtServe, Fort Lauderdale FL. 2016
"Impressions", Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids IA. 2016
Olson Larson Galleries, Des Moines IA 2015