Josh Agle, identified professionally as Shag (stylized as SHAG), is a recent artist broadly identified for his distinctive model that captures the essence of mid-century modernism and retro popular culture. Together with his vibrant colours, daring designs, and playful characters, SHAG has become an icon in the world of modern art. Just lately, his “L.A. Trendy (Day)” from 2005, bought for $20,000 at John Moran Auctioneers.
Courtesy John Moran Auctioneers
Rising up in Southern California, SHAG developed a deep appreciation for the structure, design and vogue of the Nineteen Fifties and Sixties. Within the early Nineteen Nineties the artist established his distinct model, drawing inspiration from Palm Springs tradition, mid-century fashionable design, Tiki tradition, cocktail lounges and classic promoting. He created a universe of characters, usually depicted in glamorous and eccentric settings, exuding an air of sophistication and thriller.
Together with his masterful use of flat colours and sharp strains, SHAG’s artwork transports viewers right into a retro-futuristic world that feels concurrently nostalgic and modern.
An art reviewer at the New York Times wrote of Agle: « On large panels in neon-candy colours and in a method simulating semiabstract cartoons of the early Sixties, he paints humorous, curiously touching suburban pastorals. Trendy, principally glass homes are nestled in bucolic landscapes; suave males in tuxedos and exquisite girls in night clothes and bikinis pose indoors and out in states of good composure. The work resemble illustrations for Playboy when that publication embodied, for a lot of American males, desires of final hedonistic success. »
