NOT YOUR TYPICAL “EASTER EGG” HUNT
Artist Heidi Mraz brings new meaning to hunting for “Easter Eggs” in her automotive assemblage art.
“The Easter eggs in my art are references, allusions or clues to the hidden story within the larger portrait,” says artist, Heidi Mraz. “Looking for them is like going on an Easter egg hunt. Finding them is as tempting and satisfying as candy.”
WASHINGTON, DC (April 2, 2021) – Today artist Heidi Mraz revealed her latest piece, “Which Came First The Ferrari Or The Egg?” a whimsical surreal image of a race car flying high over mountain tops in a vast blue sky. The car’s movement and speed are illustrated with trails of colorfully decorated eggs. Look closer and you discover the entire car is constructed from paper resin eggs with tidbits of history hidden throughout the piece. “This is when the magic happens. You spot an egg with a Ferrari emblem and think could this car be a Ferrari? Suddenly you’re in the hunt for more clues,” Mraz says.
Mraz first encountered the subject car in California in 2017. The quirky 1950 Ferrari 166 MM/212 Export "Uovo" by Fontana was a headliner at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction. The aeronautically inspired race car is shaped like a jet without wings, which gives it an egg-like form hence the nickname, “Uovo” (egg in Italian.) The spectacular Ferrari sold for $4,500,000 to a European collector. “Typically, my Easter eggs are not quite so literal, but after photographing the Ferrari “Uovo” the idea just clicked. I started collecting and photographing every egg I could find.” It took Mraz six months and over 4,000 hand cut eggs to create the 48”x72” collage.
Mraz is on a mission to document and share car stories using art as her vehicle before the stories are lost or forgotten. Her mixed media approach always includes content that is historically driven. She starts with a thorough investigation of the subject car and then focuses on one important idea to drive the narrative in a novel way. Using her own photographs, the car’s provenance and found material, Heidi crafts thousands of images and paper fragments into the likeness of the automobile. The result is an organized chaos that is equal parts eye candy, history lesson and hide and seek.
Artist: Heidi Mraz
Title: Which Came First The Ferrari Or The Egg?
Medium: Mixed Media, Paper Resin on Board
Size: 48”x 72”
Date: 2021
Price: Available Upon Request
Copyright Heidi Mraz 2021