Graphite and watercolor on paper, 10 x 8 " framed5 x 3.5" artwork size

Joel D. Sager (b. 1980) is a contemporary American painter of landscapes, still-life and portraiture. Often drawing on such standard subject matter with economy and singularity— a solitary figure in a room or misplaced sock on a bed— the conceptual element of his work becomes a contemplation on meaning for even the simplest objects: person, place, or thing.

Sager's process often involves a distinctive mixture of media, incorporating tar with oil pigments, or wallpaper with squid ink, or graphite and cut paper. Through these unique media compositions, Sager's paintings create a new voice on fundamental elements handed down from art history.