Alex KatzDancer II, Alex Katz2020
2020
About the Item
- Creator:Alex Katz (1927, American)
- Creation Year:2020
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5547986422
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 opened a major retrospective of his art.
Find Alex Katz art today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Charlie ChaplinBy Red GroomsLocated in New York, NYA whimsical tribute to the silent film icon, Charlie Chaplin was created by Red Grooms in 1986 as a three-dimensional lithograph in colors. Encased in a Plexiglas box measuring 23 x ...Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsLithograph
- Red's RoxyBy Red GroomsLocated in New York, NYComplete with moving film strip (operated by crank handle and viewable through the tiny theatre windows), Red’s Roxy is one of the most fun and clever of the artist’s three-dimension...Category
20th Century Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsMylar, Plexiglass, Lithograph
- The Gates (e), Project for Central ParkBy Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYThis offset lithograph in colors on wove paper from the Project for Central Park, New York City, was created by the artist in 2005. One of 300 hand-signed (in pencil) prints from an ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Petit SoleilBy Pablo PicassoLocated in New York, NYOne of the most pleasing red earthenware tiles created by Picasso during his time at the Madoura Foundary in Vallarius, France, Petit Soleil (little sun) ...Category
20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsCeramic, Earthenware
- Wrapped Fountain, BarcelonaBy Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYThis lithograph with collage was created in 1979/2009. From the signed and numbered edition of 200 measuring 22 x 28 in. (55.9 x 71.1 cm.). Available for local pick up from Michael L...Category
20th Century Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- The Gates (c), from the Project for Central ParkBy Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLocated in New York, NYThis offset lithograph in colors from the Project for Central Park, New York City, was created by the artist in 2004. One of 300 hand-signed by the artist in pencil from an unnumbere...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Feminist Contemporary Fabric Mixed Media Sculptural Tapestry - Fascist Five 937Located in New York, NYLinda Stein, Fascist Five 937 - Feminist Contemporary Fabric Mixed Media Sculptural Tapestry Fascist Five 937 is from Linda Stein's Armored for Today's Events series, which advocat...Category
2010s Feminist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal
- American Contemporary Mixed Media Sculpture - Linda Stein, Country Knight 643Located in New York, NYThis sculpture from Linda Stein’s Knights of Protection series functions both as a defender in battle and a symbol of pacifism. The series references popular and religious icons suc...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsMetal
- Feminist Contemporary Fabric Leather Sculptural Tapestry - Growing Up Female 931Located in New York, NYLinda Stein, Growing Up Female 931 - Feminist Contemporary Fabric Leather Sculptural Tapestry Growing Up Female: Jewelry, Guns, Landmines 931 is from Linda Stein's Sexism series, w...Category
2010s Feminist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal
- Feminist Contemporary Fabric Leather Sculptural Tapestry - November 6, 2015 865Located in New York, NYLinda Stein, November 6, 2015 New York Times 865 - Feminist Contemporary Fabric Leather Sculptural Tapestry November 6, 2015 New York Times 865 is from Linda Stein's Sexism series,...Category
2010s Feminist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal
- Feminist Contemporary Mixed Media Sculptural Tapestry -Tango is Egalitarian 974Located in New York, NYLinda Stein, Loreen Arbus Says Tango is Egalitarian 974 - Feminist Contemporary Mixed Media Sculptural Tapestry Loreen Arbus Says Tango is Egalitarian 974 is from Linda Stein's Sexism series, which advocates an expanded perspective of gender constructions--one that includes non-binary views of masculinities and femininities, allowing for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Kindness. Stein began to produce sculptural tapestries in 2013, in which she combines archival images with multiple fabrics and leather. Loreen Arbus Says Tango is Egalitarian 974 breaks from the view of tango as a traditional gender hierarchy of a woman being led by a man by showing imagery of couples of various identity configurations--male/male, female/female, binary/non-binary, standing/in a wheelchair, mixed race...Category
2010s Feminist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal
- Feminist Contemporary Sculptural Tapestry - Femininities: Body Language 897Located in New York, NYLinda Stein, Femininities: Body Language 897 - Feminist Contemporary Sculptural Tapestry Femininities: Body Language 897 is from Linda Stein's Sexism series, which advocates an exp...Category
2010s Feminist Mixed Media
MaterialsMetal