Richard Hagerty: Via Crucis: The Way of the Cross

Richard “Duke” Hagerty, a Charleston, South Carolina-based Post Modern Surrealist painter, debuts Via Crucis: The Way of the Cross, a series of fourteen panels depicting this iconic subject in narrative material of our time. Free and open to the public daily, presented by Midtown Arts Common in cooperation with Saint Peter's Church.

Installation opening

The exhibition opens with an artist reception Thursday, February 8, 2018, 7-9:00pm. Pastor Jared Stahler will moderate a live discussion with the artist at 8pm.

About the work

Hagerty’s Via Crucis explores the Stations of the Cross within the context of modern, sometimes political, visual commentary that serves to reinvigorate the dialog around this ancient religious art tradition. A prominent plastic surgeon for more than four decades, Hagerty wielded scalpel by day in the theatre of surgery, and a paintbrush by night creating an impressive

body of work in his distinct Post-Modern Surrealist style.

“I have always been interested in the pageantry and mystery of the Stations since I was an altar boy at St. Mary’s Church in Charleston,” said Hagerty.

He uses symbols of ancient and modern cultures in the vibrantly colored fourteen panels, as well as references to gender, race, climate, religion, and dreams. Hagerty sees the Stations as embodying the universal truths of love and compassion, and his goal is to bring the viewer into a quiet, personal space of awareness.

The rotating visual art exhibition program was founded by Elaine de Kooning in the 1960s in a church that has traditionally embraced the arts in a unique and progressive manner. Saint Peter’s, which is renowned for its Louise Nevelson Chapel, Pomodoro Cruciﬁx and works by Kiki Smith and other acclaimed artists in its permanent collection, also has expansive programs in both jazz and classical music, as well as dance, hosting top performers throughout the decades across all disciplines. The rotating

visual art galleries at Saint Peter’s are open to both secular and non-secular exhibitions.

“Not since Barnett Newman’s abstract Stations of the Cross in 1958 has an artist presented such a provocative rendering,” said Pastor Stahler. “Where Newman asked ‘why?’ with no ﬁgurative reference at all, Hagerty places before us what vast segments of our society want to forget: that human-caused suffering and injustice are all around us, a reality to which we are all captive.”

Planning your visit

Saint Peter's Church is located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 54th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Gallery hours: daily 9:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M.
The Church building sometimes closes early.
Call 212-935-2200 for exact closing times.

Saint Peter’s Church is accessible to all people at the building entrances on Lexington Avenue and on 54th Street.

The E, M (weekdays only), 4, 5 and 6 trains stop nearby. As do the M57, M31, M50, M101 and M103 buses.