Kristen Egan is a mixed media artist specializing in masks and sculptures. Her creative process relies on the organic shapes of natural materials like gourds, antlers and tree branches. Adding details with carved wood, paper clay and acrylic paints, she often juxtaposes bright patterns and ornamentation against raw or weathered surface textures. She has developed a personal mythos that explores subjects like folk art, totemic imagery, astronomy and ecology. Her pantheon of recurring animal characters are frequently inspired by species native to her home state of Pennsylvania. Kristen graduated with a BFA in Art & Design from the SUNY College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY. Her work is collected internationally and has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. She currently works from her home studio in eastern Pennsylvania, and also has a workspace at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading, PA.

About this collection: ILLUMINATED BEASTS is an exhibition inspired by the weird and whimsical creatures found in medieval bestiaries and illuminated manuscripts. Like the marginalia of old, these sculptures are a hybrid of nature and artist imagination. I often reference this ancient illustration style in my work, but this is the first time I’ve made it the central theme of a collection. In addition to the usual materials like gourds and paper clay, these masks and totems incorporate some extra woodcarving, as well as a few special materials including horsehair, opalite and seashells collected during past travels.