Kiss Me, Stupid 1964

Rosalyn Drexler made "Kiss Me, Stupid" with paint, probably acrylic, layering flat opaque shapes on a canvas. This kind of process, layering and simplifying, creates a kind of visual punch, doesn't it? Drexler seems to be telling a story with bold, graphic shapes. The orange background is like, BAM! And then you have the red coat, so solid. The paint isn't trying to trick you into thinking it's something else, it's just paint, doing its job. Look how the shapes come together to suggest the kiss. Her hand, slightly contorted and exaggerated, reaching out... The paint is flat, but the feeling is thick with narrative tension. She reminds me of Alex Katz, both artists are so direct in their approaches, using clarity and simplicity as their tools. It's this embrace of ambiguity, this willingness to let the image breathe and speak for itself that makes art so endlessly fascinating.