Alex Katz
Biography
ALEX KATZ CREATES A RECORD OF "QUICK THINGS PASSING," COMPRESSING THE FLUX OF EVERYDAY LIFE INTO A FIXED IMAGE.
ALEX KATZ WAS BORN IN NEW YORK IN 1927, THE SON OF RUSSIAN IMMIGRANT PARENTS. HE WENT ON TO ATTEND COOPER UNION IN MANHATTAN, WHERE HE STUDIED PAINTING UNDER MORRIS KANTOR. AFTER GRADUATING IN 1949, KATZ WAS AWARDED A SCHOLARSHIP AT THE SKOWHEGAN SCHOOL FOR PAINTING AND SCULPTURE IN MAINE. KATZ’S FIRST SOLO SHOW WAS HELD AT THE ROKO GALLERY IN 1954. DURING THE 1950S, KATZ BEGAN TO FOCUS ON REALISM IN HIS PAINTINGS, SPECIFICALLY WITH PORTRAITURE WHERE HIS WIFE, ADA, BECAME HIS PRIMARY MUSE. HE WOULD USE MONOCHROME BACKGROUNDS, WHICH WOULD BECOME A DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF HIS STYLE, ANTICIPATING POP ART AND SEPARATING HIM FROM GESTURAL FIGURE PAINTERS AND THE NEW PERCEPTUAL REALISM. IN THE 1960S, KATZ BECAME INCREASINGLY INFLUENCED BY FILMS, TELEVISION, AND BILLBOARD ADVERTISING. HE EVEN DESIGNED SETS AND COSTUMES FOR CHOREOGRAPHER PAUL TAYLOR. HE WENT ON TO PAINT LARGE-SCALE PAINTINGS AND HONE IN ON PRINTMAKING, PRODUCING MANY EDITIONS OF LITHOGRAPHY, ETCHING, SILKSCREEN, WOODCUT AND LINOLEUM CUT PRINTS. THROUGHOUT THE 1970S, HE CONTINUED TO PAINT PORTRAITS, CAPTURING THE SOCIAL WORLD OF PAINTERS, POETS, CRITICS, AND OTHER COLLEAGUES THAT SURROUNDED HIM. SINCE 1951 ALEX KATZ'S WORK HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MORE THAN 200 SOLO EXHIBITIONS AND NEARLY 500 GROUP EXHIBITIONS INTERNATIONALLY SINCE. KATZ HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS ACCOLADES THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, SUCH AS THE PHILIP MORRIS DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AT THE AMERICAN ACADEMY IN BERLIN IN 2001, THE COOPER UNION ANNUAL ARTIST OF THE CITY AWARD IN 2000 AND THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMY MUSEUM, NEW YORK IN 2007. WORKS BY ALEX KATZ CAN BE FOUND IN OVER 100 PUBLIC COLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE. KATZ CONTINUES TO WORK IN AN ARTISTS’ COOPERATIVE BUILDING IN SOHO, NEW YORK CITY, WHERE HE HAS RESIDED SINCE 1968.
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