Working with closely cropped compositions and subjects taken out of context, Joseph Yaeger creates paintings that blur the boundaries between cinema and memory. We are constantly on trial, 2020, exemplifies Yaeger’s unparalleled ability to portray moments mundane enough to be plausible but idiosyncratic enough to give viewers pause. The work features a unicyclist seen from behind, who wears a glittery costume and performs beneath magenta hued lights. The artist denies viewers any further information about the spectacle or its compelling subject.
“The imagery I use is a protracted search to better understand myself; playing or putting on roles that might clarify an interior that is sort of naturally hidden, even from myself.”
—Joseph YaegerWe are constantly on trial demonstrates Yaeger’s innovative approach to painting with watercolor on gesso, a stylistic choice that contributes to his work feeling both familiar and distant. On his material development, the artist recalls: “I'd been expecting the watercolour to behave like fresco or something, really what it did was float on top of the gesso, and bead, making layering or slow-painting almost impossible. And the image could be eliminated back to nothingness with almost no effort––appeared to want to, in fact.” The transparency of the layered watercolor parallels the slipperiness of memory, grasping the essence of the moment yet retaining the allure of the out of reach.
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Born in 1986, American artist Joesph Yaeger lives and works in London, where he completed his MFA at the Royal College of Art in 2019.
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Phillips debuted Yaeger’s work at auction earlier this fall with Sphinx without a secret, 2021, which achieved over 10 times its low estimate.
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The artist has been the subject of several critically acclaimed solo exhibitions, including Time Weft, presented at The Perimeter in 2023 and Just a Second with Antenna Space, Shanghai in 2022. More recently, the artist has also contributed to important group shows including Hauser & Wirth’s showcase of contemporary painting Present Tense, held at their Bruton gallery.
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The artist is represented internationally by Modern Art, London and Gladstone Gallery.
