Enlightenment: Ella, oil and mixed media on wood

In her artistic practice, Liza Montgomery explores constructed identities and everyday masks. The artist’s painting and mixed media works use faces and figures as their starting point, adding details and elements like cosmetics and jewelry both to obscure and to create an entirely new face for a subject.

Afterglow I, photo-collage, watercolour on panel

In our previous feature of Liza’s work with the performance of identities we looked primarily at the artist’s paintings. Liza’s works, in oil and mixed media on wood, portray female figures exclusively, many of which seem to take the artist’s own likeness as a starting point. There’s a great focus on facial features in these works -- to the point where other details like bodies and clothing are left unfinished.

Liza's art portfolio website

I also find Liza’s work with photo-collage interesting. It’s neat to see how the artist’s conceptual interests align with this new medium. In the photo-collage gallery, several portraits of the artist seem to utilize a similar visual language as the one found in the artist’s painting, showcasing these masks brought to life.

Altarpiece (diptych), photo-collage and mixed media on panel