Introduction
Joshua Hagler’s work interacts with a broad spectrum of subjects, including his own middle American upbringing, the 19th century exploration of North America, modern science fiction and the traditions of Italian religious art. Through his visual work, Hagler confronts ideas of extreme religious experience and notions of wider cultural and social identities. To tackle these extensive concepts, Hagler produces sweeping canvases of scenes often distorted by gestural smears of fluid brushwork that enter into realms of abstraction. Hagler has commented that these abstract forms should appear to the viewer as manifestations of unformed recollections, reflecting the ephemeral process of memory.
Education
2002 BFA, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
Solo Exhibitions
2021
The Living Circle Within Us, Unit, London, UK
Drawing in the Dark, Cris Worley Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas, USA
2020
Platform (online), Unit, UK
2019
Chimera, Unit, UK
2018
Love Letters to the Poorly Regarded, Roswell Museum & Art Centre, New Mexico, USA
The River Lethe, Brand Library & Art Centre, Los Angeles, USA
2017
In the House is a Room into which Every River Empties, Nicole Longnecker Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
Missouri Parallels, Galleri Oxholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
2016
The Adopted, JAUS Gallery, (traveling), Los Angeles, USA
2015
The Adopted, Brandstater Gallery at La Sierra University (traveling), Riverside, California, USA
2014
My Name is Nobody, Avis Frank Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
Romancing the West, Galleri Oxholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Unsurrendered, Figure One Gallery at University of Illinois, Illinois, USA
2012
The Imagined Chase, Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco, USA
2011
Perceptions of Religious Imagery in Natural Phenomena, 101/Exhibit, Miami, USA
Carlo V Castle, Lecce, Italy
2009
72 Virgins to Die For, Frey Norris Contemporary and Modern, San Francisco, USA
2007
Bring Us Rapture, Mina Dresden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022
Nassima Landau, Tel Aviv, Israel
Unmatter, curated by Alberto Fiz, Eduardo Secci Gallery, Milan, Italy
Art Brussels, with Eduardo Secci Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Praxis, Arushna Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Zona Maco Art Fair, with Eduardo Secci Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
2020
Figures as Form, Hollis Taggart Gallery, New York, USA
TWENTYFOUR, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Red Wood (online), curated by Julia Westerbeke, San Francisco, USA
Drawn Together (online), Unit, London, UK
2019
Nuit Noire, Kashagan Galerie, curated by Hotel Trinki for LA Biennale de Lyon Resonance, Lyon, France
Gardens, Last Projects, Los Angeles, USA
From a Corner the Sound of a Small Bird, Big Pictures, Los Angeles, USA
2018
Paradise Lost, Patrick Painter Inc, Los Angeles, USA
With Liberty and Justice for Some, Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, USA
Dreams and Fevers, Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Looking for U, Unit, London, UK
2017
Two Sides of the Coin, Galerie Greulich, Frankfurt, Germany
With Liberty and Justice for Some, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Berkeley Art Centre, Berkeley, Los Angeles, USA
Unknown Soldier, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Soul Case, Durden & Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Trust Fall, Gallery ALSO, Los Angeles, USA
The Encrypted Form, Størpunkt, Munich, Germany
Figurative Futures, 101/Exhibit, Los Angeles, USA
2016
Over the Hills, Hometown Gallery, New York, USA
Hysterical Fiction, La Estacion Arte Contemporaneo, Chihuahua, Mexico
Werewolf, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2015
Sincerely yYours, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, California, USA
Angels with Dirty Faces, Gallerie Ernst Hilger, Vienna, Austria
Tallahassee International, Florida State University Museum of Art, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
52nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
2014
Among the Missing, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Exquisite Corpse, MASS Gallery, Austin, USA
Daftpunk 2.0, Mid-Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Transreal Topologies, Royal Institute, Adelaide, Australia
What the Mouth Sees, Altar Space, San Francisco, USA
2012
Optic Nerve, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami, USA
2011
Vessel Traces, San Giovanni di Dio Church, Lecce, Italy
2010
Joshua Hagler and Mayumi Ishino, Babel Visningsrom for Kunst, Trondheim, Norway
Nearly Approaching Never to Pass, Reaves Gallery, New York, USA
I am Solitary I am an Army, Surface Gallery, Nottingham, UK
Black Lab, The Lab, San Francisco, USA
2009
Echo, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2008
Close Calls, Headlands Centre for the Arts, Sausalito, USA
2007
Your Gallery, in association with The Saatchi Gallery, The Guardian, London, UK
2004
Contemporary Perspectives, MoCA at the Luther Burbank Centre, Santa Rosa, USA
Selected Press
2021
‘10 Emerging Artists You Should be Investing In’, The Gentleman’s Journal
2020
April ‘Issie 147, New American Paintings, Summer Issue 8′, ArtMaze Magazine
September ‘Interview‘, Hopper Prize Journal
June ‘Joshua Hagler‘, You Wanted a List
April ‘Interview‘, On Art and Aesthetics
2019
July ‘20 Questions’, GQ Magazine
‘Joshua Hagler Explores Fading Dichotomies in New Unit London Exhibition‘, Artlyst
‘American Contemporary Artist Joshua Hagler Brings Chimera Show to London‘, Art and Collections
‘Chimera is an exhibition of large-scale oil paintings by American contemporary artist Joshua Hagler‘, FAD Magazine
‘American Incarnate Meets Hagler’s Horrors‘, Fault Magazine
‘Exhibitions: Joshua Hagler at Unit London’, be-Art Magazine
2018
December ‘Studio Documentary‘, Juxtapoz Presents
August ‘Pick of the Week‘, Artillery Magazine
‘Joshua Hagler at the Brand Library‘, Art and Cake
July ‘Gallery exhibit at Glendale Library exploress theme of mobility’, Glendale News-Press
‘Joshua Hagler’s Layered, Deconstructed Paintings‘, Hi-Fructose Magazine
2016
‘Summer Issue‘, Venison Magazine
November ‘A Conversation with Maja Ruznic and Joshua Hagler‘, Art and Cake
July ‘The Art World’s Most Daring – and Fun- Season’, New York Times Style Magazine
June ‘Artist Profile’, Vogue (Italy)
2015
January ‘Artist Feature‘, AF Art Magazine
2014
November ‘New Faces in Contemporary Art Vol.1‘, Pickled Matter
October ‘Eight La Artists You Should Know’, Fabric Magazine Issue 26
July ‘Among the Missing’, Art Ltd. Magazine
May ‘Bay Area Weekend Picks’, San Francisco Chronicle
‘Among the Missing’, Square Cylinder
April ‘Among the Missing’, New York Times
2013
September ‘Interview’, Juxtapoz Magazine
‘To be Announced’, Viralnet
May ‘Fair Play: Notable locals at this year’s big artMKT and ArtPadSF shows’, San Francisco Bay Guardian
January ‘In the Box Beneath the City’, San Francisco Chronicle 2012
‘Optic Nerve 14 at MoCA’, Critical Miami
2012
April ‘Evangelists’, San Francisco Chronicle
2011
‘Joshua Hagler’, Beautiful/Decay Magazine
October ‘Joshua Hagler at 101/Exhibit’, Artcards
August ‘Review by Chiara Miglietta’, Arskey Magazine
2010
‘Masterminds 2012′, SF Weekly
2009
‘Echo’, ARTnews Magazine
‘Enrich thyself: the finest art at the finest prices’, San Francisco Magazine
‘Ever Heard of a Ritual Killing?’, ARTslant
Selected Collections
Bunker Foundation (Rudwin DeWoody Collection), Los Angeles, USA
Weissman Family Collection, New York, USA
Green Art Foundation, Dallas, USA
Auerbach Family Collection, EU
Novarese Collection, Bologna, Italy
Roswell Museum of Art, New Mexico, USA
Brand Library Centre, Los Angeles, USA
MOCA, Miami, USA
MOCAD, Detroit, USA
Asia Art Centre, Taipei, Taiwan
M+ Collection, Hong Kong
Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, New Mexico, USA
Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, RiZhao, Shandong, China