Bau-Xi Gallery will soon be hosting a solo exhibition of the works of Frederick Hagan, titled "Close to Home: Paintings from 1940-1990.”The exhibition will feature a collection of the artist's works dated from 1940-1990 to honor the late artist's centennial. These works offer intimate glimpses into the artist's home and studio; masterpieces honoring the humble objects found there. Born in Toronto and raised in Cabbagetown, Hagan looked to his lived environments as sources for his artistic subjects. "Frederick Hagan's unique work has for decades responded to and shaped Canadian painting. Immersed in a culture of painting that increasingly privileged abstraction, Hagan was firmly committed to his figurative style with little investment in self-promotion. But the artist’s canvases were nonetheless deeply symbolic, powerful, and energized portraits of humanity that combined Cubist, Mannerist, Expressionist, and even Classical principles of composition while ultimately creating a style all his own, rooted his personal, existential questioning," (Bau-Xi Gallery).The renowned artist left school early to help support his family and worked a string of semi-skilled factory jobs by day. His growing interest in art led him to evening classes in drawing and painting. At the age of nineteen, Hagan took to the streets of Toronto with brushes, oil paints, small plywood panels and near boundless energy to capture the color, bustle and unfolding drama of his immediate neighborhood. In 1939 four of his drawings were selected to be hung at the New York World's Fair. After studying at the Ontario College of Art under Franklin Carmichael and John Alfsen in the early 1940's, Hagan began exhibiting with The Royal Canadian Academy at the age of 21. In 1941 Hagan received the opportunity to teach arts and crafts at Pickering College in Newmarket. By 1946 he became faculty at the Ontario College of Art, where he taught lithography for almost four decades. It was during this time that he recorded his family, friends and the country life in his paintings, providing a fascinating social commentary on life in Ontario in the 1940s. In 1967, Hagan was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal; in 1985, he was commissioned by Canada Post to create the 16 postage stamps, issued 1986-1989; in 1998, he was awarded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal. His work is presented in prominent public collections including those of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Frederick Hagan passed away on September 6, 2003 at the age of 85.The exhibition will be on view through May 19, 2018, at Bau-Xi Photo, 350 Dundas St West, Toronto, Canada. For details visit: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/galleryguide/bau-xi-gallery/overviewClick on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the artworks. www.blouinartinfo.com Founder: Louise Blouin
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