Alexandra Zizmor

 

Chicago-based artist Alexandra Zizmor creates contemporary portraits that explore the tension between image and identity. Drawing on the graphic immediacy of Pop Art, her paintings are defined by bold color, flattened space, and decisive line. Her subjects—ranging from family and friends to mythic figures—inhabit a narrative world that is both personal and symbolic. Through mask-like visages and enigmatic gazes, Zizmor examines the performative roles people assume in society and the subtle pressures that shape human experience.

  

Zizmor’s artistic path began with a passion for of collecting and a deep engagement with the art world. After earning an M.A. in Modern Art Connoisseurship at Christie’s Education in New York, she transitioned into making 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. 

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Following years devoted to a demanding professional career, Zizmor returned to the studio with renewed focus. Her recent work was showcased in the 2024 ‘Art for Life Chicago’ exhibition at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart and have also been shown at the AIR Studio and Gallery in Glencoe, IL. Her paintings have found homes in private collections, forming quiet dialogues with their owners. Two works from her Chasing Beauty series will appear in forthcoming book, the design of me, by the late Ron Kovach, former president of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Architecture and Design Society.​​​

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