Dirk Hagner was born, raised, and educated in Germany, where he studied at the Folkwang School of Fine Arts, University of Essen. Since the 1980s he has lived in the United States.

In his art, old and new techniques and ideas complement each other. Working in new directions, he constantly finds himself drawing historic, geographic, political and artistic connections to the past. Old procedures like letterpress and etching are joined with photo intaglio and fax machine. Influences from European and American art meet the sensibilities of line and space of the Far East. New ideas refer to old concepts and traditional methods express contemporary content. With his often wry interplay of Eastern and Western elements and sensibilities, he gives a new edge to the traditional “bite” of the print, jotting down notes on our world and human folly.