New York Art Expo advertisement preliminary 1981

This preliminary advertisement by Patrick Nagel, well, it’s like a fashion spread meets an architectural plan, with the whole thing sort of hovering in a digital space. I can imagine Nagel thinking, what if the city skyline could be as seductive as a pair of lips? The solid blocks of black and yellow and blue feel so airbrushed, the way the colours don't really mix so much as press up against each other. It is as if he’s saying that our desires are as manufactured and sleek as the buildings in the background, and the city is as much a product as the art being promoted. There's something about the woman's gaze, too – both cool and inviting, like she’s selling a dream. A dream of art, of course. It makes me think about other artists who have used figuration, like Alex Katz, who also understood that simplicity could be so emotionally complex. It's like all of us painters are just remixing each other, hoping to strike a new chord from the same old piano.