Alex Katz (b. 1927, Brooklyn, New York) is one of the most influential and distinctive figures in contemporary American art. Renowned for his crisp, flat surfaces, bold use of colour, and striking economy of line, Katz forged a unique visual language that emerged in the 1950s in contrast to the dominance of Abstract Expressionism in the 1940s and 1950s. His style — often seen as a precursor to Pop Art that emerged in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s in America and Britain — melds elements of abstraction and representation, with influences ranging from Henri Matisse to mid-century American culture, film, and advertising.Over a prolific seven-decade career, Katz has created an expansive body of work encompassing portraiture, landscape, sculpture, and printmaking. His most iconic subjects include his wife and lifelong muse Ada, as well as friends, dancers, and fashionably dressed figures, often depicted in cropped, cinematic compositions that exude cool detachment and modern elegance. In his later years, Katz turned his focus toward nature, exploring light, seasons, and atmosphere in immersive large-scale landscapes.Katz has held over 200 solo exhibitions worldwide and his work is housed in major public collections including MoMA, the Whitney, the Tate, and Centre Pompidou. In 2022, he was honoured with a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, and in 2024, his monumental seasonal landscapes were displayed at MoMA in New York. That same year, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by the White House, recognising his enduring impact on American visual culture.Katz lives and works in New York City and Lincolnville, Maine, continuing to paint “the immediate present” with timeless clarity and vision.

Alex Katz

With flat planes of rich, lovely color, Alex Katz’s landscapes and portraits evoke the smooth aesthetics of advertising billboards and film.

https://data.wengcontemporary.com/media/AlexKatz_BlueHat_ContentSheet.pptx.pdf

Alex Katz's Blue Hat (2004) is a perfect example of his unique style, which has had a lasting impact on contemporary figurative art. The picture, viewed up close like a cinematic snapshot, draws us into an intimate connection with the figure. Katz intentionally avoids traditional techniques like texture or perspective, choosing instead to focus on flatness and colour to convey meaning.&nbsp;For him, colour is a way to express emotion, and he felt that to truly experience the vibrancy of these hues, everything that isn't colour had to be toned down. In the painting, for instance, two sailboats are barely noticeable on the horizon, and the only real decoration is the woman’s headscarf.&nbsp;The portrayed woman is Katz’s wife, Ada, who has appeared in many of his works over the years. The simplicity of the composition brings about a sense of fleetingness, almost like a bittersweet memory — a story that feels just beyond our reach. This feeling is reinforced by Ada's uncertain expression, which feels both mysterious and intriguing. She gazes toward something behind the viewer, making us wonder what she’s looking at. Katz strikes a perfect balance here, creating a sense of realism while deliberately leaving out anything that could offer easy answers.&nbsp;What we’re left with is a feeling of mystery, with the figures caught between revealing and hiding their true selves.

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—Alex Katz