ALEX KATZ. RECENT PAINTINGS

March 11 - June 12 2005

The work of Alex Katz (New York, 1927) is internationally recognised as possessing its own, unclassifiable style. Nonetheless, Katz uses elements associated with abstract expressionism, such as the large size of his canvases; with pop art, in the iconic transformation of his images and his repetition of figures; with minimalism, seen in the neutral backgrounds against which his silhouettes frequently stand out; and with cinema and advertising ways of representation.

The result are monumental paintings in which light is used to modulate the surface on which the composition is built up using flat, bright colours in an attempt to capture what Katz calls "that immediate sensation you see before you focus". The situations he portrays are seemingly trivial scenes from everyday life, ephemeral moments elevated to a higher status when transferred to the canvas.

Alex Katz numbers Matisse and Pollock amongst his greatest influences, the former for his extraordinary technique and the latter for the energy in his work. With regard to his own work, Katz says there are two characteristics he seeks to maintain: "technically, I like a kind of seamless painting, and philosophically, in a nutty way, a sort of positive feeling about being alive".

The works by Alex Katz presented at CAC Málaga form an excellent display of his work over the last decade. Night paintings, seascapes, landscapes, forests, flowers and his renowned portraits make up an exhibition that demonstrates that Katz's work has lost none of its characteristic freshness and elegance.

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