This stunning Alex Katz Coca-Cola Girl Pl. 1, 2021 woodcut from Alex Katz draws on a long tradition of Pop Art and co-opts the image of the Coca-Cola girl, an iconic part of the ubiquitous beverage company’s advertising strategy for nearly a century from the 1890s to 1960s. Even to a viewer who is not familiar with the history of these advertising figures, Katz’s explicit reference to the company’s signature red in the color of the woman’s lips cements the image as a nod to that vital aspect of Americana. The image is tightly cropped around the lower half of her face and upper torso and her Coca-Cola red lips are the liveliest element on the panel. Her blonde hair flows off into the distance and obscures part of her face, referencing one of the most iconic and classic images of the Coca-Cola girl. By using flat areas of color, carefully painted to ensure an even and almost mechanical application, a viewer’s attention is placed away from the act of painting and to the moment and character portrayed. His warm-hued color palette intensifies any nostalgic sentimentality and the flat application of color draws from both the image’s Pop Art and advertising origins, creating a wonderfully graphic and versatile image. A lack of detail in the work’s background contributes to a nostalgic sentiment that carries throughout the work, allowing the woman’s figure to occupy the spotlight.

Created in 2021, this woodcut in colors on Somerset 300 gsm paper is hand-signed by Alex Katz (Brooklyn, 1927 - ) in pencil in the lower left image and numbered from the edition of 75.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Alex Katz Coca-Cola Girl Pl. 1, 2021 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Alex Katz Coca-Cola Girl Pl. 1, 2021 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.