The American artist Alex Katz (born 1927 in Brooklyn, N.Y.) is considered the world's most important representative of figurative realism and a decisive pioneer of Pop Art in the USA.
The work of the artist, who received the “Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy Museum” in 2007, has been the subject of more than 200 solo and almost 500 group exhibitions internationally since 1951.
Alex Katz is not interested in the illusion of three-dimensionality. Instead, he enhances the concentration on the respective two-dimensional subjects by using monochrome areas in the background, which becomes a stylistic and unmistakable feature of his art.
The present color screen print “Ariel 1” is one of the latest editions by the painter and graphic artist. In it, he draws parallels between his very individual approach to painting and printmaking and his interest in poetry, as both are equally concerned with omitting unnecessary details in order to reproduce only the essential information.
Limited, 60 copies | numbered | signed | color silkscreen on paper | framed | format 155.5 x 97 cm
Alex Katz was born on July 24, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His parents introduced him to art as a child and encouraged their son in his career aspirations, which led him to study at the Cooper Union Art School in Manhattan, New York.
From 1946 to 1949, he was trained there in painting as well as the theories and techniques of modern art. The years of his training coincided with the period of abstract expressionism, so that his early works were not unaffected by this art movement.
However, after completing his studies, Katz found his independent artistic expression in figurative painting. During his scholarship for summer studies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Main in 1949/1950, he was also encouraged to paint from life, which proved to be decisive for his artistic development and remains an integral part of his painting practice to this day.
Alex Katz has been honored for his work several times and his works are represented in numerous renowned collections, including the collection of the MoMA and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Tate Britain in London and the collection of the Museum Brandhorst in Munich.
