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    ‘Butterfly’ Explores 4,000 Years of Our Fascination with Lepidoptera in Art and Science

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    Kerry Miller, “A Handbook to the Order Lepidoptera” (2013), mixed media, 10 1/4 x 16 1/8 × 3 1/8 inches. Photo courtesy of Kerry Miller. All images courtesy of Phaidon, shared with permission

    ‘Butterfly’ Explores 4,000 Years of Our Fascination with Lepidoptera in Art and Science

    September 9, 2025

    ArtBooksNatureScience

    Kate Mothes

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    Since time immemorial, we have been awed by the ornate patterns, metamorphosis, and migrations of butterflies and moths. Their uncanny life stages and spectrum of vibrant colors and textures—both as caterpillars and as adult insects—endlessly inspire wonder.

    Butterfly: Exploring the World of Lepidoptera, a new book forthcoming from Phaidon on October 1, celebrates these distinctive winged creatures throughout art history and science. From portrayals in 4,000-year-old Egyptian artworks to pioneering entomological studies during the Enlightenment to contemporary explorations, the volume surveys our enduring fascination with the insects.

    John Abbot, “Black and Blue Admirable Butterfly and Chestnut-coloured Butterfly” (c.1774–1841), etching from watercolor, 15 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches. Image courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter H. Raven Library

    So far, scientists have documented about 20,000 species of butterflies in the world, but there are likely more. And in the order of Lepidoptera, which includes moths, estimates of the total number of species range from a staggering 180,000 to 265,000. The largest is known as Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, with a wingspan that can reach up to one foot. And when it comes to moths, a similarly sized wingspan can be found on a Southeast Asian species known as the Atlas Moth.

    Artists have long captured the likeness of butterflies in a range of media as a way to symbolically represent transformation, rebirth, beauty, and purity. More than 250 entries fill Butterfly, including sculptures, photography, paintings, illustrations, textiles, and more, which tap into the myriad ways in which these marvelous bugs pollinate not only our fragile ecosystems but our imaginations, too.

    Pre-order your copy now in the Colossal Shop.

    Ralph Martin, “Old World Swallowtail Wing” (2018), photograph, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of Ralph Martin / BIA / Nature Picture Library

    Rebecca Coles, “British Masters 01” (2017), recycled art books and entomology pins, 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches. Image courtesy of TAG Fine Arts

    Anonymous, Atlas Moth (c.1615), gouache on paper, 7 x 4 3/4 inches. Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

    Wardell Milan, “Sunday, Sitting on the Bank of Butterfly Meadow” (2013), chromogenic print, 39 7/8 x 60 inches. Image © Wardell Milan, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco and Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, New York

    Katsushika Hokusai, “Peonies and Butterfly” (1833–4), woodcut print, ink, and color on paper, 10 × 14 5/8 inches. Image courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art

    Cat Johnston, “Moth Creature” (2024), cloth, fur, paint, and epoxy clay Image © Cat Johnston

    Martin Frobenius Ledermüller, “Butterfly Wing Scales” (c.1764), watercolor and ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches. Image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library; Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

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      From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths

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      All images courtesy of Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permission

      From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths

      July 7, 2025

      ArtCraftNature

      Kate Mothes

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      “Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.” While on one hand, she dreads certain types of the winged creatures turning up in her house because of the risk they pose to textiles, she is fascinated by their variations and loves to see them thrive.

      Dualities abound in Bernhardt’s sculptural, embroidered textile moths. Her creative process begins outdoors in a seemingly unrelated aspect of the studio—her garden. The artist tends to a “moon garden” every summer, comprising fragrant botanicals like tobacco, moonflower, datura, and jasmine that perfume the air and blossom with small white flowers that “glow in the dark like stars,” the artist says. Sphinx and luna moths often visit, accompanied by thousands of fireflies.

      When the sun comes up, the garden transforms into a riot of color, with zinnias, poppies, and roses attracting daytime pollinators like butterflies and bees. “It’s the duality of it—night and day, sun and moon, moths and butterflies” that fascinates Bernhardt. She adds, “It’s an incredibly complex balancing act I am forever mesmerized by.”

      Mirroring the supple fuzziness of the insects’ wings, the artist enjoys working with velvet to achieve the moths’ elegance and whimsy. It’s a challenging material because the pile can be unforgiving; make a mistake and the ghost of the stitch will remain as a mark on the fabric. Bernhardt stitches freehand when applying motifs to the wings, starting with a loose sketch but allowing intuition to guide her in creating star-like patterns and symbolic objects like vases or eyes.

      Bernhardt also loves working with vintage needlepoints and old tapestries. “I find textile pieces in dusty corners of antique stores; I love these discoveries,” she says. “And I love giving them another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished.”

      The artist’s work is currently included in Daughters of Eve at Quirky Fox in Taranaki, New Zealand, and Beyond the Sea at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California. In August, Bernhardt will be part of a show with Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and she’s currently working toward a solo exhibition at Haven Gallery in Long Island, New York. Find more on her website and Instagram.

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    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Art

      Vintage Tapestries Cloak the Wings of Larysa Bernhardt’s Plush Moths

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      Art
      Craft
      #insects
      #moths
      #sculpture
      #textilesJanuary 23, 2022Anna MarksAll images © Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permissionIn a cozy studio overlooking a garden in Blackwell, Missouri, artist Larysa Bernhardt creates colorful moth sculptures with a needle and thread. Her fabric creatures are embroidered with old tapestries, often portraying historical people, animals, and delicate botanical forms on their wings: one specimen with a rusty orange abdomen depicts a little bird taking flight, while another is blue with a Medieval woman looking at a flower.Able to stand on their own or hang from the wall, the handmade moths feature eyes made from Czech glass beads and bodies of cotton velvet and Belgian linen. Bernhardt also wires their wings, enabling people to shape them into their desired position.The artist initially began by collecting vintage textiles, including silk tapestries and wool, and was interesting in analyzing and unraveling their histories, taking an interest in how creatures, such as moths, often inhabit such materials. “I have some very old wool and silk tapestries, and I’m still trying to unravel the stories behind them,” she tells Colossal. “Those will never be cut, they’re treasures, and I’m constantly checking for moth larvae…and just like that, moths entered the chat! What I love and what I fear melded into my work, in what I believe is a magical, albeit slightly menacing way.”In addition to the material components, the moths are inspired by travel, television shows, books, and “even phrases someone drops in the grocery line to checkout,” Bernhardt says. “I will never tire of seeing how magically creative humans are,” Bernhardt explains.Some of her works are on view now at New Orleans’ Mortal Machine Gallery, and you can view more of her work on Instagram and shop available pieces on Etsy. (via Supersonic Art)
      #insects
      #moths
      #sculpture
      #textilesDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Butterflies and Moths Flutter Through J.C. Fontanive’s Automated Flipbooks

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      Art
      #butterflies
      #flipbook
      #moths
      #sculpture
      #videoDecember 13, 2021Grace Ebert[embedded content]Illustrations of the elegant atlas moth and paper kite and orange-barred sulphur butterflies fly through a new trio of analog animations by J.C. Fontanive. The Cleveland-born artist created a sleek flipbook machine while he was a student at the Royal College of Art back in 2004 and has since crafted myriad designs featuring birds and insects that fly around the small, metallic frame. His most recent works bring the 2D Lepidoptera to life as they burst into a flurry of quick movements, and the individual paper cards emit a subtle whirring, similar to that of fluttering wings. “Flipping pages make these handmade sculptures live in real sound and space. Creatures flit and flicker by to awaken the poetry of movement and inspire through nature and invention,” Fontanive says in a statement.You can see the trio in action on Vimeo and shop available sculptures on the Flipbook Machine site. Follow the artist’s projects on Instagram.[embedded content]
      #butterflies
      #flipbook
      #moths
      #sculpture
      #videoDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More