It’s Global Cat Day, the ultimate excuse to celebrate our feline friends. This work by the American painter Robin F. Williams parodies the Polish-French artist Balthus, known for his controversial, erotically charged paintings of pubescent girls, and equal fixation on cats. Williams’ art is a principally a reflection of her “love-hate relationship with 1970s magazine advertising, the work of old masters like Manet and Balthus, and the inevitability of the male gaze”, an interview with S Magazine revealed. Unlike Balthus’ young sitters, however, Williams’ protagonist is post-pubescent and empowered, staring defiantly at the viewer and holding two cigarettes: a cat lady of the coolest kind (although we don’t condone smoking around your pets!)
