Wildflowers
View Similar Items
Alex KatzWildflowers2017
2017
About the Item
Alex Katz
Flat color and minimal forms contrast the often monumental scales of the paintings by Alex Katz through which he creates portraits and landscapes of deceptive simplicity. Although the signature stark style that defines his prints and other work is now recognizable at a glance, it took him a decade to develop. During that time, he has said he destroyed hundreds of paintings.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian émigré parents, Katz’s family moved to Queens when he was a baby and that is where his family’s passion for the arts supported his early creative interests. In 1946, he enrolled at the Cooper Union in Manhattan where he studied painting under Morris Kantor. While he was influenced by the bold colors and hard edges of modernism, he shifted away from the then-dominant Abstract Expressionism movement to figurative scenes of life that have an inherent cool in their pared-down approach. Especially impactful were Katz’s summer studies between 1949 and 1950 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, a place where, as he later wrote: “I tried plein air painting and found my subject matter and a reason to devote my life to painting.”
Katz’s first solo show was in 1954 at Roko Gallery in New York. He experimented over the course of the following years with collage and painting on aluminum sheets, with his work in the 1960s drawing inspiration from film and advertising. In the 1970s, Katz expanded into portrait groups that regularly depicted the cultural scene of New York; in the 1980s, he extended his focus to fashion and its supermodels. Since the late 1950s, an enduring muse for his portraits has been his wife, Ada, while others have painted friends and famous figures. The intimate closeness of the frequently cropped faces in Katz’s portraits exudes a sense of tension with the subjects’ enigmatic expressions and planes of color.
In the 1960s, Katz collaborated with American dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor on sets and costumes. His concentration on landscapes emerged in the late 1980s, with atmospheric night views joining his practice, which had previously been defined by bright colors. Always finding new perspectives on his work, he has explored using iPhone photographs as the basis for large-scale compositions in recent years.
Katz’s prolific career has spanned sculpture, prints and public art along with his paintings and drawings, and his works can be found in the collections of leading museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Museum of Modern Art. He has had over 250 solo exhibitions around the world and continues to be acclaimed. In 2022, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum plans to open a major retrospective of his art.
Find Alex Katz art today on 1stDibs.
- PinksBy Gary HumeLocated in New York, NYGary Hume Pinks 2002 Silkscreen 17 3/8 x 14 inches; 44 x 36 cm Edition of 45 Signed, titled, dated and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Available fr...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints
MaterialsScreen
$2,000 - Forager III (Ed. 1159/1443)By James JeanLocated in Dallas, TXThe Forager convenes with the council of miniature sprites in a sylvan glen, the figures delicately illuminated with holographic foil and dimensional details. This elaborate print fe...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Still-life Prints
MaterialsScreen
- Day Lilies (Hand Signed and Inscribed by Alex Katz)By Alex KatzLocated in New York, NYAlex Katz Day Lilies (Hand Signed and Inscribed by Alex Katz), 1992 Silkscreen on wove paper Boldly signed, inscribed and dated on the lower, right front in black marker by Alex Katz...Category
1990s Pop Art Still-life Prints
MaterialsScreen
- Mnemonic DeviceBy Joe TilsonLocated in New York, NYJoe Tilson Mnemonic Device, 1975 Silkscreen with hand coloring on Thin Bamboo Wood Sheet 21 1/4 × 19 1/2 inches Edition 96/100 Hand signed and numbered from an edition of 100 on rect...Category
1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints
MaterialsInk, Screen
- Blatt auf Karteikarte, rom the portfolio Columbus: In Search of a New TomorrowBy Joseph BeuysLocated in New York, NYJoseph Beuys Blatt auf Karteikarte (from Columbus: In Search of a New Tomorrow), 1992 Color silkscreen on vellum parchment paper, held in original portfolio sleeve Signed by Eva Beuys, the Executor of the Beuys estate, in blue ink on the reverse and annotated P.P.; and bears publisher's blind stamp 30 × 22 3/4 inches Held in the original, removable portfolio sleeve (see photograph) Originally published by Domberger in collaboration with Artists Unlimited for Nature to support the conservation of the tropical rainforest. The text says: 1000 Stk. hh DIN A4 EVP 33,00 M This is one of five Printers Proofs aside from the regular edition of 100, signed by Eva Beuys, the Executor of the Beuys estate, and annotated PP on the front, with the publisher's blind stamp, from the original portfolio Columbus: In Search of a New Tomorrow, housed in the rarely seen original protective sleeve. The portfolio was created to raise funds to help save the rainforest. “Before the world is changed it would perhaps be more appropriate not to destroy it” - Paul Claudel This color silkscreen signed and annotated on the reverse by the artist's widow is Joseph Beuys contribution to the portfolio, "Columbus: in Search of a New Tomorrow" - to raise funds and awareness about saving the Rainforest. 35 artist from around the world were invited to contribute mainly silkscreens, but also photography, literature, drama and music. This ambitious project was sponsored by His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and Mr. Hoet, manager of “documenta IX”. Besides Beuys, other artists who participated in this portfolio are: Kenny Scharf, Max Bill, Sandro Chia, Eduardo Chillida, Joe Cocker, Christo, Hanne Darboven...Category
1990s Conceptual Abstract Prints
MaterialsVellum, Screen
- On A Dining TableLocated in Bournemouth, DorsetROBINSON , Geoffrey (b.1945) On A Dining Table c.2011 Silkscreen Print 47.0 × 57.0 cm 18 1/2 × 22 2/5 in Geoffrey Robinson trained at Bournemouth College of Art in the 1960’...Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Prints
MaterialsScreen