Phil Weston

The Other Side: An Installation by Jennifer Angus

February 6 – May 30, 2021

Madison-based artist Jennifer Angus presents a dramatic, site-specific art installation in the Paine’s Main Gallery. Using exotic insects as her medium, Angus designs elaborate geometric patterns and narratives comprised of thousands of preserved specimens to explore themes of beauty, ornamentation, natural history collections, the relationship between humans and insects, and the important role insects play in ecosystems.

Wax house sculptures tower on stilts in the middle of the Main Gallery surrounded by insects pinned to bright blue walls in symmetrical patterns. A large, dresser of specimens sits at the forefront, and chandeliers dangle overhead.

Phil Weston

A dresser of specimens with a beehive on top.

Insects arranged in patterns on a bright blue wall.

Phil Weston

About the Exhibition

Madison-based artist Jennifer Angus created a dramatic, site-specific art installation in the Paine’s Main Gallery. Using exotic insects as her medium, Angus designs elaborate geometric patterns and narratives comprised of thousands of preserved specimens to explore themes of beauty, ornamentation, natural history collections, the relationship between humans and insects, and the important role insects play in ecosystems.

Her installation at the Paine encompasses the Main Gallery with carefully arranged insects on the walls and intriguing sculptures and furniture within the room. A complimentary exhibition of artworks by Angus is on view in the Gothic Gallery. A professor of design studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Angus has exhibited her work at museums and galleries around the world and has authored a fantasy novel and several short stories related to the insect world.