Alex Katz: Claire, Grass & Water

Katz's wellspring of inspirations spouts anew in his expressive yet controlled paintings of land, sea and postwar fashion

Fresh from his blockbuster Guggenheim exhibition, Gathering, American painter Alex Katz (born 1927) emerges on the other side of the Atlantic in another favorite location of the Guggenheim family: Venice. Here, in the Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Katz debuts three of his most recent series of paintings inspired by the Floating City, the lush Italian countryside and American fashion designer Claire McCardell. His grayscale paintings of the ocean are reminiscent of the deep sea, while his green and orange fields are rendered in his trademark simple, sparse strokes. Suddenly, these colors find new meaning in the pared down silhouettes of fashion models in McCardell's feminine, patterned designs. The three series are accompanied by a conversation with the artist in which he shares the reasons behind his newest inspirations.

This book was published in conjunction with Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice