New York has had a profound effect on the shaping of Alex Katz's artistic career. Describing it as an ' impossible, uncivilised place', Katz tells TateShots how the city changed completely after the emergence of Jackson Pollock, and how this in turn led Katz to pursue what he calls 'the immediate present' in his work.
The artist's exhibition at Tate St Ives brought together over 30 canvases, plus collages and cut-outs, spanning the full breadth of his career from the 1950s to now. Given the Gallery's location on the beach, the exhibition placed a special emphasis on Katz's seascapes, as well as images of family holidays and friends, painted in his own seaside retreat of Lincolnville, Maine, where he continues to spend his summers.
