Here Goodman interprets one of Man Ray’s photographs of fellow artist Marcel Duchamp dressed as Rrose Sélavy, Duchamp’s female alter ego. With lurid colors that emphasize Rrose’s makeup and fur collar plus a vaguely surrealistic background, Goodman unites recognizable elements with something slightly beyond the visible world. He explained that his works take on two primary concepts: “One is about shades of ambiguity and clarity. The other is about richness of light and color.”
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Goodman studied at the Philadelphia College of Art (later the University of the Arts). His bold, figural style drew national attention almost immediately: his 1961 New York debut was met with acclaim, and at just twenty-seven,Timemagazine named him one of the most important emerging artists of his generation. Goodman taught for more than fifty years at the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His work is represented in major collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and an honorary doctorate from the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.
