“At once dream-like and intensely physical, Hagler’s painterly meditations on life, love, death and landscape could not be a more timely as visual poems addressing existence in today’s troubled world.”
David Anfam, 2021
The vast oil paintings of Joshua Hagler, a multidisciplinary artist based in New Mexico, loom large against the stark white walls of contemporary gallery Unit London – a relative newcomer to the Mayfair private gallery scene. Unlike some of its more traditional gallery neighbours, Unit London embodies an unconventional spirt, borne from a desire to break down the associations of fine art with elitism.
With a digital focus on NFTs combined with championing the careers of cutting-edge artists from all corners of the globe like Hagler, Unit London not only appeals to fledging art lovers and digital savvy millennials, but also presents a bold vision of an inclusive contemporary art world.
Hagler’s work can be recognised through his bold yet sensitive use of colour and vigorous painterly style. The mixed media canvas, ‘Cathedral’, exemplifies this: dusky peaches, lavender blues and burnt caramels blur into a soft smooth haze which only intensifies when contrasted with the textural vivid streaks of colour that are slashed across the canvas. Paint marks appear to actually rise from the surface of the canvas like tiny waves. The result is so tactile and tangible you have to fight every instinct not to reach out and touch it.
Once you learn more of Hagler’s works you realise that beneath their colourful and seemingly abstract surfaces, his work has far greater symbolism and meaning than initially perceptible. He uses the medium of paint to explore a broad spectrum of topics, including; mass shootings in America, wildfires, religion and wider socio-cultural identities.
