Fragments of Grace

by Amy Frank

Through vibrant painted paper collages, Fragments of Grace explores the sacred landscape of womanhood—its tenderness, resilience, joy, grief, nurturing, and transformation. Inspired by Amy's lifelong fascination with the Blessed Mother as both spiritual icon and embodiment of the Divine Feminine, these works reimagine feminine archetypes through a contemporary lens rooted in compassion, community, and hope.

Constructed from layers of everyday ephemera—maps, handwritten notes, book pages, sheet music, and personal keepsakes, many gathered from the people and places that inspired each piece—the collages become visual archives of shared experience. Most of the works are built upon unfinished oil paintings left behind by the artist's beloved Irish-Catholic grandmother.  These inherited canvases serve as both literal and symbolic foundations, creating an intimate collaboration across generations. Her brushstrokes remain visible beneath the collage, infusing each work with a quiet maternal presence and honoring the artistic legacy passed from grandmother to granddaughter.

The women depicted throughout the exhibition are not portraits of specific individuals but universal figures. They cradle children and the Earth, raise their hands in celebration, stand among flowers and birds, and move through landscapes rich with symbols of renewal and belonging. Echoing the visual language of Marian iconography while expanding its meaning, these figures invite viewers to consider the sacred that exists in ordinary acts of care, creativity, courage, and connection. Together, they celebrate the many ways women carry memory, sustain community, and nurture life across generations.

At its heart, Fragments of Grace is an invitation to see ourselves—and one another—as beautifully assembled from countless experiences, relationships, and memories. By layering her grandmother's unfinished paintings with the collected traces of everyday life, Amy transforms inherited materials into works that speak to grace, belonging, and the enduring creative power passed from one generation of women to the next.