Yellow Flags
View Similar Items
Alex KatzYellow Flags2013
2013
Alex Katz
Flat color and minimal forms contrast the often monumental scales of the paintings by Alex Katz through which he creates portraits and landscapes of deceptive simplicity. Although the signature stark style that defines his prints and other work is now recognizable at a glance, it took him a decade to develop. During that time, he has said he destroyed hundreds of paintings.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian émigré parents, Katz’s family moved to Queens when he was a baby and that is where his family’s passion for the arts supported his early creative interests. In 1946, he enrolled at the Cooper Union in Manhattan where he studied painting under Morris Kantor. While he was influenced by the bold colors and hard edges of modernism, he shifted away from the then-dominant Abstract Expressionism movement to figurative scenes of life that have an inherent cool in their pared-down approach. Especially impactful were Katz’s summer studies between 1949 and 1950 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, a place where, as he later wrote: “I tried plein air painting and found my subject matter and a reason to devote my life to painting.”
Katz’s first solo show was in 1954 at Roko Gallery in New York. He experimented over the course of the following years with collage and painting on aluminum sheets, with his work in the 1960s drawing inspiration from film and advertising. In the 1970s, Katz expanded into portrait groups that regularly depicted the cultural scene of New York; in the 1980s, he extended his focus to fashion and its supermodels. Since the late 1950s, an enduring muse for his portraits has been his wife, Ada, while others have painted friends and famous figures. The intimate closeness of the frequently cropped faces in Katz’s portraits exudes a sense of tension with the subjects’ enigmatic expressions and planes of color.
In the 1960s, Katz collaborated with American dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor on sets and costumes. His concentration on landscapes emerged in the late 1980s, with atmospheric night views joining his practice, which had previously been defined by bright colors. Always finding new perspectives on his work, he has explored using iPhone photographs as the basis for large-scale compositions in recent years.
Katz’s prolific career has spanned sculpture, prints and public art along with his paintings and drawings, and his works can be found in the collections of leading museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Museum of Modern Art. He has had over 250 solo exhibitions around the world and continues to be acclaimed. In 2022, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum plans to open a major retrospective of his art.
Find Alex Katz art today on 1stDibs.
- Pin Oak CrownBy Sylvia Plimack MangoldLocated in New York, NY2006, aquatint with drypoint, 17 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches, edition of 34Category
Early 2000s Prints and Multiples
MaterialsDrypoint, Aquatint
- Wading II ( Blue )By Isca Greenfield-SandersLocated in New York, NY2012, direct to plate photogravure and aquatint, 31 1/2 x 30 1/2 inches, edition of 50
- Summer MapleBy Sylvia Plimack MangoldLocated in New York, NYA drypoint and aquatint by artist Sylvia Plimack Mangold.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsDrypoint
- (On) Other's Good QualitiesBy Ross BlecknerLocated in New York, NY2010, etching and aquatint, 22 x 22 1/4 inches, edition of 40Category
20th Century Landscape Prints
MaterialsAquatint, Etching
- Tommy and StinkyBy Isca Greenfield-SandersLocated in New York, NY2008, direct to plate photogravure and aquatint, 23 1/2 x 22 inches, edition of 50Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Prints
MaterialsPhotogravure
- Wading II (Pink)By Isca Greenfield-SandersLocated in New York, NY2012, direct to plate photogravure and aquatint, 31 1/2 x 30 1/2 inches, edition of 50Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsPhotogravure
- Wild RosesBy Joan SnyderLocated in Brooklyn, NYWild Roses, 2010 Lithograph/etching/woodcut 28 3/8 × 38 3/8 in 72.1 × 97.5 cm This print combines etching, lithography, and woodcut to create a great variet...Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsEtching, Lithograph, Woodcut
- Elia Shiwoohamba ( Namibia, 1981 ) Harvesting Time Lino Cut African School 2006By Elia ShiwoohamaLocated in Meinisberg, CHElia Shiwoohamba (* 1981 , Windhoek, Namibia ) Harvesting Time • African School • Linoleum cut • Sheet ca. 34.5 x 43 cm (Image is smaller) • Bottom left numbered 8/50 and titled • ...Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Landscape Prints
MaterialsPaper, Linocut, Woodcut
- TreesBy Nicolas PartyLocated in London, GBWoodcut on BFK Rives paper, produced in 2020. Edition of 100. Mint condition, unframed. Signed and numbered in pencil by Nicolas Party.Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Prints
MaterialsWoodcut
- Vestiges of Edo in Tsukuda - WinterLocated in Koto-Ku, 13About Vestiges of Edo in Tsukuda (Tsukuda ni Nokoru Edo no Omokage) Artist: URBANOWICZ Mateusz Woodcarver: SEKIOKA Senrei III Printer: ITO Tatsuya Year: 2020 Our first original landscape ukiyo-e depicting Tsukuda, a neighborhood next to Tsukishima station in the east of Tokyo. This artwork highlights the striking contrast between the modern architecture and historical elements, that co-exist in harmony in Tsukuda today. The Japanese title Tsukuda ni Nokoru Edo no Omokage translates to “the vestiges of Edo in Tsukuda” - the word omokage (vestige) refers to the river, an aspect of old Edo that has continued to exist to this day, despite the fact that other things may have evolved or disappeared with time. When we trace back the history of ukiyo-e, we can see that there have been many foreign ukiyo-e artists who created important shin-hanga works in the 20th century, such as Paul Jacoulet, Elizabeth Keith...Category
2010s Edo Landscape Prints
MaterialsWoodcut
- Vestiges of Edo at Bell Tower - EveningLocated in Koto-Ku, 13About Vestiges of Edo at Bell Tower (Toki no Kane Edo no Omokage) Artist: URBANOWICZ Mateusz Woodcarver: SEKIOKA Senrei III Printer: ITO Tatsuya Year: 2021 A former castle town situ...Category
2010s Edo Landscape Prints
MaterialsWoodcut
- Vestiges of Edo at Bell Tower - NoonLocated in Koto-Ku, 13About Vestiges of Edo at Bell Tower (Toki no Kane Edo no Omokage) Artist: URBANOWICZ Mateusz Woodcarver: SEKIOKA Senrei III Printer: ITO Tatsuya Year: 2021 A former castle town situ...Category
2010s Edo Landscape Prints
MaterialsWoodcut