Alexandra Zizmor
Alexandra Zizmor creates contemporary portraits that explore themes of identity, gender, and social rules. Her subjects range from family and friends to the mythical realm of heroes and villains, offering a rich and diverse narrative. Influenced by Pop Art, her paintings feature flattened planes, saturated colors, and graphic linework, creating an almost poster-like appearance.
For Zizmor, art serves as a powerful medium for storytelling and social critique. Her portraits, characterized by decorative, mask-like visages with inscrutable gazes, serve as metaphors for the performative roles people assume in society. She invites viewers to reflect on the subtle yet pervasive pressures that shape and constrain human experience.
Zizmor’s artistic journey began in her twenties, sparked by a passion for collecting. Captivated by the art world, she studied at Christie’s Education in New York, earning an M.A. in Modern Art Connoisseurship. Her experiences as both an observer and student inspired her transition into creating art. Her debut solo exhibition of mixed media works at the Derfner Judaica Museum in New York drew critical attention, including recognition from The New Yorker. After a long hiatus, Zizmor reconnected with her creativity, focusing on portraiture. In 2024, her work was showcased at the ‘Art for Life Chicago’ exhibition at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Her paintings have found homes in private collections, forming quiet personal dialogues with their owners. Most recently, two pieces from her Chasing Beauty series will be featured in an upcoming book, the design of me, by the late Ron Kovach, former president of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Architecture and Design Society.
