Alex Katz

•Artist: Alex Katz

•Title: Ives Field II

•Media: Oil Painting on Linen

•Dimensions: 74”x 120.5”

•Date: 1964

Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) New York School painter Alex Katz developed his highly stylized aesthetic in reaction to 1950s Abstract Expressionism, finding his own distinctive resolution between formalism and representation. His brightly colored figurative and landscape paintings are rendered in a flat style that takes cues from everyday visual culture like advertising and cinema, in many ways anticipating both the formal and conceptual concerns of Pop Art. Well known for his many portraits of his wife and muse, Ada, Katz has also dedicated himself to printmaking and freestanding sculptures of cutout figures painted on wood or aluminum. (http://alexkatz.com/biography/narrative_bio)

•Statement: “You don't paint alone to start with; you are part of a culture. You are painting in reaction to what others say about your work. It is like collaboration with other people when you paint.” - Alex Katz (www.artline.com)

•Background Information on the art: “Alex Katz has often been classified with the Pop Art movement because of his use of bright color, flat shapes and oddly mechanical technique, one that seems derived from illustrations or even comic books. Yet, Katz was not concerned with popular culture in the way that Andy Warhol was. Katz does not draw his subject matter from the world of advertising, television, celebrity or commercial art. Instead, he has built a career around representing his friends, family, pets and flowers.”      (  http://weatherspoon.uncg.edu/exhibitions/show/?title=alex-katz-works-from-the-permanent-collection)

•Theme Connection: The “great outdoors” doesn’t have to be some far off mystical place it can be as close as your neighborhood park. I cherish the many times I have spent playing at the park playing catch with my son or having a picnic with friends and family. My fondness for these cherished memories is why I chose this work for my gallery.