Alex Katz USA, b. 1927
Overview
Alex Katz, "Ada in Hat", 1990
1927, New York, USA
Alex Katz's production spins around painting and engraving, mediums with which he investigates the full expressive potential of shapes and colors. The economy of lines and the use of bright colors, with almost no contrast, give a peculiar harmony to both his portraits and landscapes, generally presented in compositions with monochromatic backgrounds. Considered one of the greatest and most original painters of contemporary times, Alex Katz prefers to invest in large-scale works, where he exhibits a certain graphic influence inspired by Pop Art to explore, for instance, both the pictorial power of trees and flowers, and the facial expressions of his favorites models: friends, family, personalities and, especially, his wife Ada Katz.
Biography
Alex Katz, "Vivien on Blue", 2007
1927, New York, USA
Alex Katz's production spins around painting and engraving, mediums with which he investigates the full expressive potential of shapes and colors. The economy of lines and the use of bright colors, with almost no contrast, give a peculiar harmony to both his portraits and landscapes, generally presented in compositions with monochromatic backgrounds. Considered one of the greatest and most original painters of contemporary times, Alex Katz prefers to invest in large-scale works, where he exhibits a certain graphic influence inspired by Pop Art to explore, for instance, both the pictorial power of trees and flowers, and the facial expressions of his favorites models: friends, family, personalities and, especially, his wife Ada Katz.
Graduated by Copper Union Art School (NY-USA), in 1949, and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (Maine-USA), in 1950, Alex Katz has featured numerous solo exhibitions throughout his career, the most significant of which took place in institutions such as The Albertina Museum (2023, Vienna, Austria), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2022, New York, USA), Serpentine Galleries (2016, London, UK), Metropolitan Museum of Art – MET (2015, New York, USA), National Portrait Gallery (2010, London, UK), Saatchi Gallery (1998, London, UK), Centro Cultural Recoleta (1998, Buenos Aires, Argentina), Seibu Museum of Art (1988, Tokyo, Japan), Whitney Museum of American Art (1986, New York, USA), etc. Among group shows, the most important are the ones at Louis Vuitton Foundation (2019, Paris, France), 9th Mercosul Biennial (2013, Porto Alegre, Brazil), 55a Venice Biennale (2013, Venice, Italy), Hirshhorn Museum (2012, Washington DC, USA), Guggenheim Museum (2010, New York, USA), 28th Sao Paulo Biennial (2008, Sao Paulo, Brazil), Museum of Modern Art – MoMA (2007, New York, EUA), Centre Pompidou (2006, Paris, France) and many more. His works feature in the main public and private collections around the world, as in Brooklyn Museum (USA), Centre Georges Pompidou (France), Daros Foundation (Switzerland), Hiroshima City Museum (Japan), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Spain), Museo Rufino Tamayo (Mexico), Saatchi Collection (UK), Tate Gallery (UK), MoMA (USA), MET (USA), etc.
Works
