Alex
Katz

The most prominent influences on Katz’s work are evident from observing his style. Elements of the work of Henri Matisse and the School of Paris, Pop Art, and even occasionally Abstract Expressionism (in his early works), can be seen.

In the early 1960s, Katz began to paint large-scale canvases, which often feature close-ups of his subject’s face, as in Upside Down Ada (1965), or Oona (2006). These are said to be influenced by images used in advertising and the dramatic crops of cinema, as modern media typically has a large part to play in Katz’s work, leading to comparisons to many contemporary Pop Artists. Katz’s rejection of Abstract Expressionism mirrors that of Andy Warhol, who similarly painted portraits on monochromatic coloured backgrounds.

The influence of Whistler and the Impressionists became apparent in Katz’s later works, in the late 1980s. He moved away from the bold colours of his earlier work and began to take on a looser, more painterly style. Into the 21st century, his subjects continued to evolve, and he painted a large number of flowers in the form of stylised still lifes, such as Late Summer Flowers (2013) that harked back to his first experiments with the Impressionist genre in the early 1960s.

Over the years, Katz asked many family members, waitresses, and strangers he met on the street to pose for him. His bold, two-dimensional portraits tend to focus on colour and form rather than precise details, and his subjects can appear simplified and sometimes isolated against their bright backgrounds. Katz often paints on aluminium, to give the figures a strong presence and an ‘illuminated’ feel.

After 1964, Katz showed a growing interest in creating art that included larger groups of people, particularly figures from the world of art and literature. His sculpture One Flight Up (1968) is composed of more than 30 cut-out portraits of Manhattan’s popular party scene. In 1977, he created a frieze composed of the heads of 23 women, which was painted onto a 247-foot-long billboard and displayed above Times Square. In contrast to the posed, named subjects of his portraits, Katz painted many of his ‘environmental’ landscapes using nothing more than an idea of a place, rather than a specific reference.

Alex Katz has admitted to destroying thousands of paintings during his first ten years of pursuing an artistic career. He sought to find his own unique identity, rather than conform to the expectations and styles of others. He rejected narrative and tried to paint faster than he could think.

Throughout his career, Alex Katz made friends and acquaintances with many prominent figures. He produced sets and costumes for choreographer Paul Taylor in the 1960s and used many dancers and models as subjects for his portrait work. He collaborated with the likes of Ted Berrigan, Ann Lauterbach, art critic Carter Ratcliff, and Gerard Malanga on several editions of Face of the Poet, and provided the etching illustrations for Gloria by Bill Berkson. In 1962, Harper’s Bazaar included wooden cut-outs by Katz in a four-page summer fashion article. As a result of this, and many more collaborations (including with his son Vincent), Katz made a name for himself in the world of the arts, advertising, fashion, literature, and popular media. Many writers have since conducted interviews with him, and in 1989, a special edition of Parkett was dedicated to him.