Adored by collectors and art lovers around the globe, Alex Katz is renowned for his elegant and distinctive version of figuration.
Born in 1927, Katz has been dedicated to art-making since the 1950's - however it wasn't until the 60's when he established his signature 'flat' figurative style. He is a true successor to the New York based Pop artists, notably Roy Lichtenstein, who returned to representation. Over the succeeding decades, Katz kept the tradition of figurative painting alive when it had gone terribly out of style.
An active and devoted printmaker, Katz typically creates images of subjects that he is personally connected to such as friends and family, his neighbourhood, the flora around his country house, etc.
This particular elegant and evocative work is from the Edges portfolio, consisting of 13 lithographs and a poem by Robert Creeley. The prints are playful and explorative, depicting flowers both growing and losing their petals.
In "Sheet 2", a cluster of stems and petals emerge from the lower-left quadrant, spreading openly into the blank space of the composition.
Flora is a common subject for Katz, often depicted in bold and vibrant palettes and at a fairly large scale. The Edges portfolio presents more thoughtful, experimental imagery--poetic in nature and effect. Leaving out colour and fill, the plates represent the outlines, or edges, of stems, leaves, petals, and roots, offering framing for viewers to add fill the rest in. Is he sketching from life, or reminiscing? Or maybe responding to the poem by Creeley, excerpted below?
I had entered the edges, static,
had been walking without attention,
thinking of what I had seen, whatever,
a flotsam of recollections, passive reflection.
The complete Edges portfolio is in the collection of the Colby Museum of Art (gifted by the artist). All 13 works were recently included in a show at the same museum, Alex Katz in Surface Tension: Etchings from the Collection (2024-2025).
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"Untitled [2]"
From Edges, a portfolio of 13 etchings and a poem by Robert Creeley
USA, 1997
Etching on Rives heavyweight paper
Signed "Alex Katz" and numbered "24/30" by the artist in pencil along lower edge of plate area
From an edition of 30 with an additional 5 roman numerals
15”H 12”W (sheet)
10.75"H 8.5"W (plate)
16.75"H 14.5"W (framed)
Printed by Simmelink/Sukimoto Editions, Marina del Rey, California
Letterpress by Carol Sturm of Nadja, Accord, New York
Published by Peter Blum Editions, New York
Framed with museum glass
Very good condition.
Literature: Alex Katz: Catalogue Raisonné, prints: 1947-2023, listed as cat. no. 310 alongside the entire Edges portfolio (cat. nos. 309-321) on pages 232-233.
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