Heide Hatry is a contemporary fine artist represented by Ubu Gallery in New York City. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.

Hatry’s father’s death at a young age left her with a persistent sense of unresolved grief and the sense of a daunting void within. Many years later, after a dear friend had committed suicide, she sought solace through her art practice as a way coping with this now intensified and fiercely resurfacing grief.

The ways of art are ineffable. Following a sudden inspiration, Hatry “understood” that she had to make portraits of her father and her friend using their cremated remains if she wanted to come to terms with their deaths. Over a long and emotionally complicated period, she eventually perfected a labor-intensive mosaic technique in which she placed the individual ash particles onto a surface of beeswax until, using a series of individual applications, a rich and textured likeness had emerged. But more important than the technical breakthroughs, her experience revealed the possibility of a deep solace and a life-altering communion with her beloved through these profoundly present and emotionally-charged portraits that she felt compelled to share with others who were suffering from loss of their own.