Keep Contemporary presents

Mike Egan : Built By Death

Friday October 21st at 5-8 pm
142 Lincoln ave. Santa Fe NM
Dj’s – Refreshments- Spirits – Art – Community

Built By Death

The paintings that I have created for “Built By Death” are a look at my continued obsession with the idea of life and death. I chose the title of the show as a nod to my professional career. I attended mortuary school in Pittsburgh to study funeral directing and embalming. I ended up working in a number of funeral homes as an embalmer. After about five years I then went on to work as a fine artist who is obsessed with death, halloween, devils and skeletons.  I’ve been creating paintings for about 15 years now. These paintings act as a reminder to me that my life and career have truly been built by death.

– Mike

Mike Egan

I was born outside of Pittsburgh, PA in 1977 (a reason why you’ll find those numbers in my artwork). As a kid, I was really shy but eventually found art that helped me find my voice. I would trace cartoons, skateboard graphics and album covers. I can recall drawing Guns N Roses “Appetite For Destruction” many times in sixth grade or sitting in church every Sunday doodling on whatever paper I could find. I took art classes throughout high school and decided to pursue a degree in fine arts after school. I went on to college at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, two hours north of Pittsburgh. I focused on printmaking at the time, which is where I learned about artists like Jose Guadalupe Posada and the German Expressionists like Kathe Kollwitz. I loved woodcut printing as it offered bold black line work and a graphic quality that I’d later use in my paintings.