Deborah Kass's Studio Visit Reveals New Works and Enduring Themes
A studio visit with Deborah Kass in Brooklyn reveals her recent works including 'Everybody' (2019), 'After Louise Nevelson' (2020), 'OY' (2020), and 'Save the Country Now' (2025). The article discusses Kass's ongoing exploration of gender, Jewish identity, and queer voice through appropriations of Warhol, Kelly, Nauman, Ruscha, and Stella. Key series include 'Feel Good Paintings for Feel Bad Times' (2000-2010), 'No Kidding' (2013-ongoing), and the 'Art History' paintings, which had a retrospective at Salon 94 in 2025. The author, Theo Triandos, connects Kass's work to critical race studies, queer art history, and postmodernist critique. 'Everybody' pairs Martha Wash's vocals with Ellsworth Kelly monochromes. 'After Louise Nevelson' reworks Bruce Nauman's neon spiral with a feminist quote. 'OY' substitutes Ed Ruscha's 'OOF' with Yiddish, referencing Mark Rothko. 'Save the Country Now' uses Laura Nyro's lyrics atop Frank Stella's concentric squares, warning against rolling back social progress.
Key facts
- Deborah Kass shares a Brooklyn studio with her wife, artist Patricia Cronin.
- Kass's 'Art History' paintings retrospective opened at Salon 94 in 2025.
- The 'No Kidding' series title nods to Carrie Mae Weems' 'Ain't Joking' series (1987-88).
- 'Everybody' (2019) references the Black Box song 'Everybody Everybody' (1990) sung by Martha Wash.
- 'After Louise Nevelson' (2020) replaces Bruce Nauman's phrase with 'Anger? I'd be dead without my anger.'
- 'OY' (2020) is a flocked silkscreen print replacing Ed Ruscha's 'OOF' with Yiddish.
- 'Save the Country Now' (2025) is a 15-layer silkscreen on Coventry rag paper.
- The article references Rosalind Krauss's essay 'A View of Modernism' (1972).
Entities
Artists
- Deborah Kass
- Patricia Cronin
- Titus Kaphar
- Carrie Mae Weems
- Martha Wash
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Bruce Nauman
- Louise Nevelson
- Louise Bourgeois
- Ed Ruscha
- Jasper Johns
- Mark Rothko
- Willem de Kooning
- Jackson Pollock
- Frank Stella
- Rosalind Krauss
- Laura Nyro
- Barbra Streisand
- Sandy Koufax
- Irving Sandler
- Christopher Reed
- Judith Butler
- Michael Plante
- Theo Triandos
Institutions
- Salon 94
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- Newcomb Art Gallery, Woldenberg Art Center of Tulane University
- Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Interview Magazine
- Glasstire
- BOMB Magazine
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Woman's Art Journal
- Oxford University Press
- Skira/Rizzoli
- DAP
Locations
- Brooklyn
- New York
- Washington, D.C.