Alex Katz artworks and editions

The artistic style of the U.S. artist Alex Katz is characterized primarily by clear, unveiled contours and flat, monochromatic color fields without much texture. At the same time, his artworks and editions often convey a cool distance, similar to the aesthetics of 20th century advertising and cinema. Despite his often simplified forms, Katz places great emphasis on the precise rendering of light. His portraits, often of family and friends, are both intimate and chillingly impenetrable, with faces sometimes zoomed into narrow sections that he renders at monumental scale. In his landscape paintings, on the other hand, the painter often uses bright, rich colors that depict nature in an almost abstract light. Here, the artist is concerned with capturing certain times of day and moods of light and making an emotional appeal to the viewer. Although his style is occasionally associated with the Pop Art movement, Katz has always pursued a unique and independent artistic vision.