West Window 1979

Curator: Alex Katz's "West Window" captures a portrait against a window view, its dimensions being about 196 by 238 millimeters. The piece resides in the Tate Collections. Editor: It feels like a memory, a quiet moment framed by the contrast of interior stillness and the implied movement outside. Curator: Windows often serve as symbols of transition or liminal spaces. The sitter's gaze, combined with the window, might speak to identity and the construction of the self in relation to environment. The window implies her relationship to the outside world. Editor: Right, and the grid of the window itself almost acts as a kind of mask, or a filter through which we perceive both the subject and the external world. Curator: The artist’s flattening of form, particularly in the sitter’s face, speaks to Katz's interest in a certain stylized realism, and one could consider it as a commentary on traditional portraiture. Editor: The gestural brushwork of the landscape feels almost like a release, an escape from the controlled space of the interior and the composed figure. It’s a fascinating dialogue. Curator: Yes, and how the painting presents this private moment alongside a public landscape – a tension that resonates even today. Editor: It’s as if the window is not just a view, but an invitation for the viewer to consider their own position.