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ALEX KATZ (b. 1927) ADA ADA oil on canvas 60 x 120 1/2 in. (152 x 306 cm) painted in 1991 <p>PROV...

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ALEX KATZ (b. 1927) ADA ADA oil on canvas 60 x 120 1/2 in. (152 x 306 cm) painted in 1991 <p>PROV...
ALEX KATZ
(b. 1927)
ADA ADA
oil on canvas
60 x 120 1/2 in. (152 x 306 cm)
painted in 1991 <p>PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist
Irena Hochman Fine Art, NEW YORK <p>EXHIBITED
D. Sylvester, ALEX KATZ: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PAINTING, LONDON, 1997, pl. 17 (illustrated)
V. Coen, L. Liebmann, ALEX KATZ, TORINO, 1999, pp. 124-125, pl. 76 (illustrated)
For the past four decades, Alex Katz has worked diligently and brilliantly
to depict in a new and individual way the human face and figure, the figure in nature, and the landscapes in which he has lived. His powerful, yet accessible paintings have made him a major force in contemporary art and have won him great critical and international acclaim. Yet, it is ultimately his exploration of the figure and expression, most specifically of his wife, Ada's, image, which has brought him the greatest attention.
Inspired by Matisse's and Mondrian's flat, yet weighty surfaces and Rothko's thinly painted, yet volumetric color, Katz translates his subjects into flat, vibrant planes of color, which he then adjusts so as to impart a convincing sense of mass or space. The colors suggest varying depths, although the light in each picture remains uniform. Most often in his portraits, the faces appear ambiguous, dreamy, impassive, or quizzical, which is most frequently contributed by an averted gaze, as is the experience with ADA ADA. The face and figure of his wife permeate Katz's entire oeuvre. Ada's expression is always calm, and sometimes faintly amused. Her moderately high forehead rises above eyebrows well-arched and widely separated, rendering her impressive face with a simultaneous openness and ambiguity.
Formally, Katz's paintings boom out at the viewer through his use of flatness, large-scale simplified shapes, and out-sized canvases that ultimately give his outwardly placid images maximum visual impact. In ADA ADA, the double image of her face is bold, and through the cropping of her face, Katz creates an experience of tension and energy for the viewer.
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