Alex Katz
ALEX KATZ "JENNIFER (& MATHIEU)", 1986
Alex Katz (b. 1927) 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. Over the succeeding decades, Katz kept the tradition of figurative painting alive as it had gone out of style.
Katz began painting party scenes, with a goal to "make a gesture for our time." Depicting embraces, gossiping, drinking, smoking and posing, the compositions were typically compressed and cropped, presenting both intimacy and urgency. Katz's use of this tight cropping approach likely stems from his fascination with advertising, comics, and cinema.
The "Jennifer" depicted here is Katz's colleague and good friend, the artist Jennifer Bartlett.
This moment between Jennifer and Mathieu evokes feelings of passion, obsession, uncertainty, and immediacy. How do we interpret this interaction? While the two figures are physically close, do their emotions appear to be elsewhere? Jennifer holds Mathieu to her chest, yet Mathieu is giving no indication that he is present. Alternatively are his eyes closed because he is cherishing the moment? This interpersonal complexity is a cornerstone of Katz's compositions.
Katz's painting process involves making a small oil sketch or study of his subjects before creating a large-scale painting. These small oil sketches, painted directly from life, offer an intimate glimpse into the artist's process. For him, "a sketch is very direct--it's an empirical way of working within an idea."
This wet-on-wet sketch process demands speed and decisiveness, as the composition must be completed before the first layers have dried. Given his inclination to capturing absolutes, the sketches are unsurprisingly quite appealing to Katz; He concedes that "sometimes, the first sketch is better than the finished painting."
A final painting was made from this sketch. Titled Jennifer and Matthieu, the oil on linen work was completed in 1986 and was most recently appeared at auction in Honk Kong in 2019.
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"Jennifer" (and Mathieu)
1986/87
Oil on board
Signed "Alex Katz" and dated "86" on face, upper right
Titled "Jennifer" and dated "87" on verso
24”H 11.75”W (work)
25.5"H 13.25"W (framed)
Very good condition.
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