Mary Koenen Clausen

The mixed media collages of layered figures, words, and imagery by Mary Koenen Clausen are an expression of her inner world. At a very young age she created what she calls a “lensing system”, a way to internalize all of the information she was being bombarded with from the outside world and sort out that which was of importance to her internal knowledge. Art quickly became an important outlet for Clausen, an outlet in which to explore this internal world she was creating in her mind and both art and her “lensing system” have remained the driving forces of her life. The multiple layers of her collages are created through this same refined internal system, where the colors, materials, and imagery all come together in a natural and creative process. Clausen has a B.F.A. from the University of Northern Iowa and works and lives in Washington, Iowa. Her art has been in exhibitions throughout the Midwest and Northeast. The collages evoke a very intimate and personal feeling, but Clausen hopes her art will bring a new perspective to viewers and force them to have a larger perspective and to think outside of the world they exist in at that moment.