Allison Katz on cabbages, roosters, and her upcoming New York and Montreal shows
Montreal-born artist Allison Katz, 45, is preparing for two major exhibitions: 'Outta the Bag' at Hauser & Wirth's Wooster Street in New York (coinciding with Frieze, to July 24) and 'Jeu d'esprit' at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (October 9 to March 14). Her south London studio, formerly a windscreen repair workshop, reflects her interest in clarity and perception. Katz's work features recurring motifs such as cabbages, roosters, signatures, and views through open mouths. The roosters began as a way to address her feelings about marriage and masculinity. Her cabbage paintings often include a ghostly grey head of her husband Philip, who is also her studio manager. Katz's exhibition at Aspen Art Museum in 2024 recreated a Pompeian domus layout. Her painting 'First Impression' (2026) depicts the interior of a mouth looking into the Museum of Modern Art's first exhibition in 1929, referencing a Rabelais illustration by André Derain. Katz moved to London in 2018 and previously lived in New York for a decade. Her grandmother, artist Edna Katz Silver (96), recently had a joint exhibition with her in Milan.
Key facts
- Allison Katz is 45 years old.
- She has two upcoming exhibitions: 'Outta the Bag' at Hauser & Wirth New York (to July 24) and 'Jeu d'esprit' at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (October 9 to March 14).
- Her studio in south London was formerly a windscreen repair workshop.
- Recurring motifs in her work include cabbages, roosters, signatures, and views through open mouths.
- Roosters began as a way to address her feelings about marriage and masculinity.
- Her cabbage paintings often include a ghostly grey head of her husband Philip.
- Philip is her studio manager and former chef at Wright Brothers and Racine.
- Katz's 2024 exhibition at Aspen Art Museum recreated a Pompeian domus layout.
- 'First Impression' (2026) depicts the interior of a mouth looking into MoMA's first exhibition in 1929, referencing a Rabelais illustration by André Derain.
- Katz moved to London in 2018 and lived in New York for a decade before that.
- Her grandmother Edna Katz Silver (96) is an artist; they had a joint exhibition in Milan.
- Her father was a carpenter who constantly renovated their house.
- Katz advised director and lead actor Robin Wright on the art world for the 2025 TV series 'The Girlfriend'.
- The novella 'Gradiva' by Wilhelm Jensen (1903) inspired her Montreal exhibition; it was also used by Sigmund Freud and influenced the surrealists.
- Katz's exhibition at Hauser & Wirth includes additional walls that nod to classical architecture and the fallacy of one-point perspective.
Entities
Artists
- Allison Katz
- André Derain
- Edna Katz Silver
- Robin Wright
- Sigmund Freud
- Carl Jung
- Wilhelm Jensen
Institutions
- Hauser & Wirth
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
- Aspen Art Museum
- Museum of Modern Art
- Frieze
- Wright Brothers
- Racine
- The Century
Locations
- London
- New York
- Montreal
- Milan
- Pompeii
- SoHo
- Central Park West
- Elephant and Castle
- south London