The Magic Behind Mid-Century Design with Shag

Join us in welcoming painter, illustrator, and designer Shag as he discusses the iconic elements of mid-century modern design, an aesthetic that continues to fascinate and inspire nostalgia seven decades after its inception. Mid-century art and design was shaped by artists like Mary Blair and few today are able to speak to its influence better than Shag. His art has been featured in museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and the Naples Museum of Contemporary Art in Italy. He has designed products and merchandise around the world and was the official artist for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005. Also, if you’d like to immerse yourself in the visual language of mid-century, be sure to visit our latest special exhibition, Mary Blair: Mid-Century Magic.

Tickets for The Magic Behind Mid-Century Design with Shag are available as follows:

• Walt’s Circle Donors: Purchase tickets beginning Tuesday, July 8 at noon PT by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• Founding, Supporter, and Friend-level members: Purchase tickets beginning Wednesday, July 9 at noon PT by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• All member levels: Purchase tickets online beginning Thursday, July 10 at noon PT via the Member Portal.
• Public (non-members): Remaining tickets available online beginning Friday, July 11 at noon PT.

Upgrade your membership to receive priority access to purchase tickets. Membership dues and Walt's Circle donations may be paid as monthly installments or as a one-time annual payment. For more information, please email the Membership Department at membership@wdfmuseum.org.

Josh Agle, also known as Shag (a contraction of the last two letters of his first name and the first two letters of his last name) is a painter, illustrator, and designer based in Palm Springs, California. Since 1996, Shag has had numerous gallery exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia. While Shag's work might easily be dismissed as retro-kitsch, influential New York Times art critic Roberta Smith has called his painting catchy and witty, saying "the eye is snared by Mr. Agle's economic use of saturated colors—sharp greens and warm lavenders, smoldering reds, sour ochres—and the tinted-gel space created by his thin-on-thin paint handling." Interest by museum curators and academics has led to his work being featured in museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and the Naples Museum of Contemporary Art. Shag’s distinctive imagery can be found on merchandise and products worldwide. He has created work for Coca-Cola, Star Wars, Playboy, and Paul Frank Industries. In 2005, he was chosen to be the official artist for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.

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