Mike Egan had a difficult time landing a job in fine arts after he graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. 

The best opportunity he could find in Pittsburgh was working at the airport. Even that job ended shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

So he transitioned into a gig where getting laid off was nearly impossible. The following year, he completed mortuary school. 

For years, Egan was surrounded by death and grief — but in his embalming work, he saw life.

Nearly two decades later, he is the Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the University of Akron, and he’s still in the thick of using skulls, coffins and ghostly figures. His solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” is on display through April 17 at the university’s Emily Davis Gallery. 

The companion exhibition, “Pretty Gritty,” features work from local artists. 

“I don’t see my work necessarily celebrating death,” said Egan, who is originally from the Pittsburg area. “I think it’s provoking questions.”

Questions like:  “Death is coming, so what are you going to do about your life now?” 

Mike Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the University of Akron. His solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” is on display through April 17 at the Emily Davis Gallery. A companion exhibition, “Pretty Gritty,” features work from local artists.
Mike Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the University of Akron. His solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” is on display through April 17 at the Emily Davis Gallery. A companion exhibition, “Pretty Gritty,” features work from local artists. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)
Mike Egan's painting "I Protect Funerals" hangs in the University of Akron's Emily Davis Gallery as part of his solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” which is on display through April 17.
Mike Egan’s painting “I Protect Funerals” hangs in the University of Akron’s Emily Davis Gallery as part of his solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” which is on display through April 17. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)
After working as a funeral director, Mike Egan now turns life, death and religious imagery into bold, skeleton-filled art. The Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence's solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” is on display through April 17 at the University of Akron's Emily Davis Gallery. A companion exhibition, “Pretty Gritty,” features work from local artists.
After working as a funeral director, Mike Egan now turns life, death and religious imagery into bold, skeleton-filled art. The Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence’s solo exhibition, “Remember Me Forever,” is on display through April 17 at the University of Akron’s Emily Davis Gallery. A companion exhibition, “Pretty Gritty,” features work from local artists. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)

Despite exchanging a funeral home for an exhibit in Akron’s University Park neighborhood, he is still surrounded by death — now it encompasses the art he creates: from portraits of skulls with crucifixes in the eyes to murals with black cats over bright orange backdrops. 

“This is really unusual,” said Arnold Tunstall, director of university art galleries. “We don’t usually have an artist who is both in a gallery show and hanging with us for a whole semester. 

“So, it’s been really great to accept the generosity of spending so much time with us.”

Egan’s semester-long exhibit includes a corner of the room that is a mock-up of his home studio. “DEATH” is hung in bold black letters above his work bench, surrounded by half-finished paintings, mini black cat stickers, funeral banners and other knickknacks.

“I think I’m constantly painting about death and dying to remember that that’s going to happen,” Egan said in his documentary, “Death: The Life of Mike Egan.”

“You’re only here for a short while, so make sure you are living the best you possibly can.”

Artist Mike Egan works on a mural in the back parking lot of Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at the Unversity of Akron on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university.
Artist Mike Egan works on a mural in the back parking lot of Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at the Unversity of Akron on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)

Death influences Egan’s art

Egan held his first art show while working as an embalmer and funeral director. Imagery and symbols like the skeleton and skull are part of that first exhibit in 2006.

Other tokens in his art nod back to his Catholic upbringing, hence the sacred hearts and crucifixes.

“These were all things that I saw growing up around my house and growing up,” Egan said. “It’s much more of a visual thing for me. 

“I do a lot of repetitive crosses and everything. It becomes a bit of a mantra as I’m painting.” 

He uses bold colors like reds, yellows and blues that are paired with blue skulls repeating on canvases and blooming dark flowers. Egan has studied artists such as José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator, and German artist Käthe Kollwitz. 

Egan also draws from stained glass windows, German expressionism and folk art from Poland and Mexico. 

He believes people are drawn to his work because somehow, they see themselves. 

“I just want things to be very bold and graphic,” Egan said. “I think a lot of the colors that I see or use are also reminiscent of a lot of folk art that I love.”

Working outside the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art on Thursday, April 9, 2026, Finn George, a senior art education major at the University of Akron, draws the outlines of a mural using a virtual reality headset that's showing the completed piece. Mike Egan, currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university, developed four design challenges for students in the Art Bomb Brigade taught by Elisa Gargarella, an associate professor of art education, and focused on patterns, colors and symbolism.
Working outside the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art on Thursday, April 9, 2026, Finn George, a senior art education major at the University of Akron, draws the outlines of a mural using a virtual reality headset that’s showing the completed piece. Mike Egan, currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university, developed four design challenges for students in the Art Bomb Brigade taught by Elisa Gargarella, an associate professor of art education, and focused on patterns, colors and symbolism. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)

Working with arts students during residency

He has developed four design challenges for University of Akron students in the Art Bomb Brigade taught by Elisa Gargarella, an associate professor of art education, focusing on patterns, colors and symbolism.

“I think it’s been fun and challenging,” Egan said. “I think the mural also has elements of what students did. So it’s kind of a coexistence, cohabitating thing between me and the kids.” 

Students like Finn George, a senior art education major, developed symbols during the challenges that are being incorporated into murals in the back parking lot of the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art, alongside Egan’s recognizable symbols like “777.”

“Not everyone can work with students and possess a humility and sort of collaborative spirit,” Gargarella said. “When I met Mike, I immediately knew that he was a great fit for this program and I think our students have benefited greatly.”

Artist Mike Egan works on a mural in the back parking lot of Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at the Unversity of Akron on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university.
Artist Mike Egan works on a mural in the back parking lot of Mary Schiller Myers School of Art at the Unversity of Akron on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Egan is currently a Mary Schiller Myers Artist-in-Residence at the university. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)

Culture and Arts Reporter (she/her)
Kelsei centers arts and culture, food and identity in her storytelling. She uses her professional experience and editorial skills to focus a community-first mindset and a strategic approach to her reporting. Kelsei’s previous reporting experiences include food, community and culture coverage at 225 Magazine in her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kelsei is a recent alumna of Northwestern University and a 2023 graduate of Jackson State University.