kristen egan

THE MAGNIFICENT ARTHROPODS

solo exhibition

September 5th - 28th, 2025

Opening Reception: First Friday, September 5th 2025

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Arch Enemy Arts presents THE MAGNIFICENT ARTHROPODS by new-contemporary folk artist Kristen Egan. Fourteen bug hybrids—hornets, scorpions, beetles, mantises, and cicadas—are transformed into sculptural, wall-hanging masks made from gourds, paperclay, acrylic paint, gold leaf and wood. We’ve been showing Kristen Egan’s work since 2012, and this is some of the most colorful and structurally complex pieces she’s ever made. The variety of detail, both hand-painted and constructed, is fitting for the incredible diversity of insects, the loaded emotions we have for them as humans, and their intrinsic value to life on Earth.

“Insects and arthropods,” Egan tells us, “are a very paradoxical subject matter; alien but familiar, a source of disease and destruction but also a driving force of our ecosystems, individually delicate and fragile yet they make up this teeming, seemingly infinite, indestructible mass of life on Earth. In experimenting with new sculptural forms and designs, I wanted to convey both their mystique and their whimsy, to elevate our perception of them as highly evolved beings rather than pests or insignificant specks.”

 

The irony runs deep: creatures infamous for boring stems, dimpling fruit, and leaving gourd crops totally destroyed have been reimagined as wide-eyed, open-mouthed, ribbon-tongued misfits—playful, eccentric and endearing—made from the very materials they might like to ravage and perfect for any collector’s cabinet.

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“This is a very different subject matter for me. I’ve made a few spider sculptures in the past but never a whole collection of insectoids and never in wall-hanging ‘mask’ form. These pieces push the boundaries of what can be considered a mask, and they are some of the most complex constructions I’ve ever designed. Each piece is made from multiple gourds and required intensive sanding and carving, with more woodworking involved than any collection I’ve made so far. I had to be constantly thinking a few steps ahead, jumping between different steps of my process in a very unusual order, which made their construction feel incredibly slow.”

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Kristen Egan (b. 1985) is based in Berks County, Pennsylvania. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the SUNY College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and her work is exhibited and collected internationally. Egan has sold out a stunning seven solo exhibitions with Arch Enemy Arts; we are proud to have been the first gallery to feature Egan’s work back in 2012. It is a wonder to watch her evolve and apply new ideas in THE MAGNIFICENT ARTHORPODS while staying true to her unique creative vision. 

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THE MAGNIFICENT ARTHROPODS will be on view from September 5th - 28th, 2025
Sold works will begin to ship the week starting October 5th, unless other rush arrangements have been made.

Payment plan options are available on most works. All items marked with a red dot have been sold. 

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