The most prolific post-war American painter, Alex Katz has a unique approach to painting the human face. “Large format, pared-down and cropped, his people are the epitome of New York...
The most prolific post-war American painter, Alex Katz has a unique approach to painting the human face. “Large format, pared-down and cropped, his people are the epitome of New York cool” (National Portrait Gallery). In 1998 Art Historian Irving Sandler wrote that Ada “is woman, wife, mother, muse, model, social hostess, myth, icon, and New York goddess.” In 2006, the Jewish Museum hosted a solo show and published a book entitled Alex Katz Paints Ada, a distinct nod to the significance of his other half’s role in his work.
In this cut-out, Ada's two head shots, front and back, create a cinematic and narrative presence - liberating the figure from "the painting" and giving it new life as a stand-alone object.