Allison Katz

Allison Katz, born in Montreal in 1980, develops her artistic practice by exploring the complex and sometimes ambivalent dynamics of contemporary art. Her work is characterized by a constant play between revelation and concealment, creating a reflective space that challenges the boundaries of the concept of "personal style." Katz earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal and an MFA from Columbia University in New York. In 2022, she was one of the artists selected for the 59th Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, curated by Cecilia Alemani.

For over a decade, Katz has delved into the intersections between art, personal experience, popular culture, and visual communication systems. Her work draws from a wide array of symbols and motifs, including recurring figures like roosters, cabbages, mouths, and other elements that weave together a rich network of references. The wordplay and double meanings in the titles of her works reflect her interest in both visual and verbal language, turning her paintings into a form of self-referential signature. Katz's exploration of the relationship between identity and representation challenges conventional ideas of self-portraiture and individual style, often blending caricature with formal elements.

This approach is evident in the work from the Giuseppe Iannaccone Collection titled Illumination Cock (2017), where Katz employs a certain irony. Texture plays an important role in her practice, with materials such as sand or rice mixed into the pigment, giving her canvases a tactile dimension that forges a connection between image and matter.