ANNE MARIE GRGICH: COMPLEX COLLAGE COMPOSITIONS, SPIRIT-PROBING ATMOSPHERES

Based in Tacoma, Washington, south of Seattle, Anne Marie Grgich is well known for her mixed-media works that combine painting, collage, and other art-making genres and techniques. Often, her thematic and technical interests come together in her image-filled books, which are rich in physical and visual textures. Above: “Deer Book,” 2017-19, mixed media. Photo courtesy of the artist

FOR THIS SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST, THE GENRE’S METHODS AND EXPRESSIVE POWER ARE LIBERATING AND THERAPEUTIC

by Edward M. Gómez

Based in Tacoma, Washington, just south of Seattle, Anne Marie Grgich is a self-taught artist who is known for her richly multitextured images and complex compositions.

Collage has long been an essential creative tool in Grgich’s image-making kit; she blends collage elements seamlessly into her mixed-media pictures, some of whose compositions are complex and packed with narrative ideas, and into her artist’s books, which are striking, colorful objects oozing with mysterious auras. Lately, she has also been working with fabric and sewing, making quilts, purses, and wall hangings.

Anne Marie Grgich, “Cabinet Book,” 2017-18, mixed media. Collection of Chuck Iffland; photo courtesy of the artist

Born in 1961 and brought up by Croation parents who, the artist has said, passed along to her their strong work ethic, Grgich suffered a traumatic head injury when she was about 20 years old. She had long enjoyed making art, she recently told brutjournal in an interview conducted via e-mail, but in the aftermath of that major event, creating her art become more satisfying and meaningful than ever.