No Hassle Tassle c. 1980

Patrick Nagel made this striking image using clean lines and a cool palette. It's all about reduction, where the process isn't concealed. There's a graphic quality to this piece, a pop sensibility. Look at the way Nagel defines the form with just a few strokes, creating a sense of volume and light with minimal means. The background stripes feel almost like a stage set. It really draws me in. The color is very specific, the grey, the yellow, and the bare skin, all really controlled. There is an 80s feel. Nagel’s graphic style shares a visual language with Alex Katz, where a shared interest in flatness and simplification invites viewers to complete the image in their minds. It's a reminder that art is never really finished but lives in conversation with the viewer and with art history.