Aegis: Athena’s Shield- New Work By Rachael Que Vargas

Meet the artist, explore the work, and join the community.

Rachael Que Vargas is the artist who lived inside of John T. Unger for 54 years, providing their best ideas. She is the same artist, but female, refashioned, and a force of nature in the best possible way.

A poet, sculptor, and artist for over 30 years, Rachael Que Vargas’ new work is both a return to the past and an engagement with the future. Jewelry was her first medium, borne out of practicality. It was a way to realize ideas for larger work, that would come later, but with limited tools, materials, and space.

After transitioning, she found herself drawn to jewelry again. However this time the impetus was more personal, a way of exploring the ideas of her large-scale work, but relating it to the body, her body in particular. It became an exploration of how sculpture can meet the body, and gain an intimacy with it, becoming ornament, armor, and shield.