The figurative paintings of Katie O’Hagan explore the depths of human emotions. She is not afraid to touch on vulnerabilities and strengths, fears and adulations. The artwork is complex, yet relatable, which allows viewers to play an active role in the narrative by finding their own story within her on her imagery. December 3 through January 4, RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, will present the exhibition Katie O’Hagan: Unbreakable, highlighting some of her newest paintings alongside a few past compositions.Keeper, oil on linen, 36 x 26"

O’Hagan, who was born in Scotland and moved to the U.S. at age 21, often pulls ideas from her imagination, phobias and experiences. However, there isn’t a set intention when she paints. The ideas percolate in her head and evolve as she paints. “[My paintings] all usually end up having a narrative. It’s something that’s very organic. I don’t sit and think of the narrative and how to portray it,” she elaborates. “What happens more is an image will pop in my head. I’ll be zoning out and have a face in my mind, or I’ll be 4 miles into a run, and as my brain switches off, the space opens up for images to drift in. It really starts with an image and it’s just something that nags in my mind and one of them will catch and usually the narrative comes afterward.”

The artist prefers to work from photographs rather than with live models in the studio, because she is not capturing the essence of the person who appears in the painting. Rather, they are a vessel for the story. Even when she is a model in her own works, or when her friends and children appear in paintings, it is not about them but the narrative she is trying to convey.

Take for instance her painting Keeper, which depicts one her friends holding a conch shell at a beach. The work is not about the friend specifically, but the overall story that the artwork tells. “That was a painting that was sitting for a long time because it had a technical issue, but it just suddenly needed to be out there,” says O’Hagan. “I started it a few years ago based on [one of my favorite books] Lord of the Flies.”Zanyell, oil on linen, 44 x 32"

In the William Golding novel—a wartime-era story about British schoolboys who have been deserted on an island after their plane is shot down and have to build a society—the conch shell is a symbol for order. It is first used to establish when the boys talk in meetings, but eventually becomes part of the democracy of the island. As tensions mount throughout the book, the conch loses its meaning and its ultimate destruction marks an end to civility.

Keeper, of which O’Hagan says she is on the outside looking in, can be interpreted as a painting about strength and resiliency in a time of unrest. The woman holds the conch shell close to her as if she is its protector.

Another painting in the exhibition, Don’t Ask, depicts a young woman with a staple gun in her hand and her mouth stapled shut. As the pandemic led to shutdowns, O’Hagan’s daughters, ages 16 and 18, were at home and she decided to teach them how to paint after years of them asking. The idea came while O’Hagan was showing them how to stretch canvas, but developed into a concept about internalizing challenges and problems. “The image wouldn’t leave my head, and I thought of a friend who had bad things happen in her childhood and wouldn’t ever speak about it,” says O’Hagan. “It’s the silence and self-encouraged idea of not opening up.”Don’t Ask, oil on linen, 24 x 20"

While at a barbecue watching a local teacher, Zanyell, showing children how to dance with a glowing hula hoop, a moment where the hoop was against the sunset stopped O’Hagan in her tracks. She asked Zanyell if she could pause so she could capture the moment. “I was drawn to the composition and the contrast between the intensity of her expression and the calmness of the surroundings,” O’Hagan explains. “When I was painting it, while the protests were going on everywhere, it occurred to me that the hoop could have another layer of meaning. Almost a protective, and halo effect, upon those participating.”

The work, titled Zanyell, wasn’t intended to be a symbol or to make a statement, but be a portrait of a woman enjoying an activity that she loves. “However, given the moment we’re in, a narrative may have crept in along the way,” says O’Hagan. “Regardless, I prefer and encourage, as ever, that the viewers find their own interpretation.”Refuge, oil on linen, 60 x 48"

Also featured in the show is the work Resistance, which depicts a woman backed onto the edge of a plank over an empty pool as sheep come toward her. “It stems from the idea that sheep are harmless creatures, but in this work they’re ominous,” O’Hagan explains, adding, “It’s not an obvious threat, but it’s something that can be threatening.”

Other works in the show at RJD Gallery include Suspension, an older work from her series of works with spiders—a phobia of the artist’s—and Refuge, a painting that shows a nude woman folded over herself on the ground.

Gallery owner Richard Demato says, “[O’Hagan] has always been an outlier that has avoided the norms in her craft, and yet her searing portraits always captivate the viewer with an intensity that stares directly and deeply into your soul. One senses the life and liveliness of O’Hagan’s characters as they seemingly follow you through the gallery or your home, each with their own voice and presence. One never forgets her art, and discerning collectors all want to have at least one Katie O’Hagan on their wall.”Artist Katie O’Hagan.

Her collectors are from all around the world, including Steven Bennett, of the prestigious Bennett Collection, who says, “Katie O’Hagan is one of the most exciting and sought-after figurative realist painters working today. Her work is subtle yet thought provoking, visually arresting yet disarmingly simple. She is a must for every serious collector of contemporary women artists.” —

Katie O’Hagan: Unbreakable
When: December 3, 2020-January 4, 2021
Where: RJD Gallery, 2385 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, NY 11932

Information: (631) 725-1161, www.rjdgallery.co

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