The Piedmont Book Company Print 1979

This Piedmont Book Company Print was created by Patrick Nagel in the 1980s. It's so interesting how Nagel really commits to these flat planes of colour; it’s almost like he's daring the image to fall apart. I love the contrast between the creamy skin tones and the almost graphic black hair. It’s so cool and detached, yet there’s something so vulnerable in the way she’s holding that book. Maybe it's a catalogue? What I find interesting is the shadow on the wall behind, it’s like a ghostly echo of the bluebird flying towards the corner. It suggests depth, but also maybe a memory or a dream, like the painting has somehow come unstuck from reality. It reminds me of Alex Katz who also used bold and simple shapes in his paintings. Ultimately, this print has a strange and unsettling beauty that really captures a moment in time.