NEW YORK, NY.- Saint Peter’s Church, which is renowned for its Louise Nevelson Chapel, progressive Jazz and Dance Programs, and rotating art exhibitions founded by Elaine de Kooning in the 1960s, will unveil a modern interpretation of the Stations of the Cross in advance of the beginning of the Lenten season. Via Crucis: The Way of the Cross, a series of fourteen panels painted by Charleston, South Carolina Post Modern Surrealist artist Richard Hagerty, will open on Thursday, February 8th, with a cocktail reception from 7-9:00pm in the church’s Narthex Gallery, located at Lexington Ave. and 54th St. A live discussion with the artist will be moderated by Pastor Jared Stahler.

Hagerty’s vibrantly colored, thought provoking canvases explore the Stations of the Cross within the context of modern, sometimes political, visual commentary that serve to reinvigorate the dialog around this ancient religious art tradition. A prominent plastic surgeon and humanitarian 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 distinctive Surrealist style.

He uses symbols of ancient and modern cultures in the fourteen panels, as well as topical references to gender, race, climate, religion, and dreams.

“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 exist all around us, a reality to which we are all captive.

The February 8th opening is free to the public and will run through May 17th.