New York Art Expo advertisement preliminary 1981

This New York Art Expo advertisement preliminary was made by Patrick Nagel sometime before 1984, but the exact medium is unknown. What strikes me is how Nagel uses blocks of color to build an image, leaving space for our minds to fill in the gaps, the unsaid. The black, cream, and yellow are so flat, so cool, then BAM! Those red lips pop – it’s all super deliberate. Look at how the grey planes give just enough information to suggest something while obscuring what is underneath. Nagel doesn't want to get bogged down with details. Instead, he lets the image breathe, letting your imagination wander. It’s an illusion of precision. Think of the flatness in Alex Katz’s paintings. Like Katz, Nagel knows how to create an image that gets lodged in your brain. Both artists speak the language of commercial art, and both leave you pondering the essence of seeing.