{"id":56697,"date":"2023-02-07T05:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T04:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=56697"},"modified":"2025-05-26T19:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T18:37:15","slug":"alex-katz-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/alex-katz-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Katz exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/katzsmall1.jpg\" alt=\"Corner of an exhibition poster\" class=\"wp-image-57682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/katzsmall1.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/katzsmall1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A few works of art have left a lasting impression on me. One is <em>Black Hat 2<\/em> by Alex Katz, which I saw in an exhibition at the Albertina. Thanks to their <em>Cool Painting<\/em> exhibition, the same museum offers more chances to admire the work of this iconic US artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A tribute on Katz turning 95<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Draws on the Albertina&#8217;s own (comprehensive) collection of his works<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prints, paintings, drawings &amp; more<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Feb 4 &#8211; May 29, 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\">Albertina overview &amp; info<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\">contemporary art exhibitions<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cool Painting<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"330\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz2.jpg\" alt=\"Coca-Cola Girl 2 painting by Alex Katz\" class=\"wp-image-56700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz2-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Alex Katz, Coca-Cola Girl 2, 2019; Silkscreen print in nineteen colors on Saunders Waterford, Hot Press, High White, 425 gsm paper; The ALBERTINA MUSEUM, Vienna | \u00a9 Bildrecht, Vienna 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of contemporary artists, Alex Katz is pretty much as famous as it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I write this, for example, Katz has a solo exhibition at New York&#8217;s Guggenheim Museum that the Financial Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/ba53f8bb-7a1e-407b-bba2-11d33a70b418\">described<\/a> as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u2026not just scintillating, but consoling too<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>And Katz has several more exhibitions scheduled for 2023 in LA, Chicago, the Netherlands, Korea and France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The locations owning copies of his work reflect this status. Think of such prestigious museums as the London&#8217;s Tate or New York&#8217;s Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz1.jpg\" alt=\"Black Hat 2 painting by Alex Katz\" class=\"wp-image-56699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/alexkatz1-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Alex Katz, Black Hat #2, 2010; oil on canvas; ALBERTINA, Wien \u2013 Sammlung Batliner | \u00a9 Bildrecht, Wien, 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another leading name in the long list of museal owners is, as it happens, Vienna&#8217;s Albertina Museum. Indeed, they describe the US artist as one of the cornerstones of their contemporary art archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Albertina actually has the largest Katz collection in Europe with a couple of dozen paintings, numerous drawings, and hundreds of printed graphic works. (Some of which were loaned out for that Guggenheim exhibition.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which brings us nicely to <em>Cool Painting<\/em>, an exhibition allowing the Albertina to commemorate Katz&#8217;s recent 95th birthday with a tribute comprised of works from their archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The title refers to a style of reserved distance that Katz pioneered in both landscapes and portraits drawn largely from his own social circles.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/alexkatz3.jpg\" alt=\"Charcoal portrait of Anna Wintour\" class=\"wp-image-57908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/alexkatz3.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/alexkatz3-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Alex Katz, Anna Wintour, 2009; charcoal drawing; ALBERTINA, Wien; press photo \u00a9 Alex Katz, Bildrecht, Wien 2023)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Works on display include, of course, those same &#8220;cool&#8221; portraits and landscapes: the ones that tend to appear at the mention of Katz&#8217;s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But alongside the prints and paintings, you find some pieces that might be less familiar, including portraits in charcoal, subway sketches from the 1940s on sheets seemingly torn off from a notebook, preparatory drawings, and swift-stroked landscapes from the 1950s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having now seen more of Katz&#8217;s work, <em>Black Hat #2<\/em> might just lose its place to new favourites, particularly the <em>Twilight<\/em> triptychon of woodcuts from 2009\/2010 with their dark leaves and subtle sunset colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the birthday tribute to Katz from February 4th to May 29th, 2023. Any entrance ticket from or for the Albertina includes this special exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a good time to be at the Albertina, thanks to some other top spring exhibitions there (follow the links for precise dates, though). For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dip into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/durer-munch-miro-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"55421\">giants of printmaking<\/a> (until May 14th, 2023) with an exhibition featuring the likes of D\u00fcrer, Rembrandt, Munch, Bruegel, Miro, Toulouse-Latrec, Goya, Matisse, and many others of that ilk (yep, a lot of big names)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Find more from Bruegel in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/bruegel-drawings\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"55769\">exhibition of drawings<\/a> by him and his contemporaries (until May 24th, 2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>And Picasso gets his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/picasso-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"57405\">commemorative tribute<\/a> given the 50th anniversary of his passing (until June 18th, 2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Katz exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply follow the travel tips on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2995\">main Albertina page<\/a>. The Katz exhibition is on the lower level (turn left once past the ticket check for stairs and the lift).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1zfWanf5rPBbnTLLDuah2uixe-Nw\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few works of art have left a lasting impression on me. One is Black Hat 2 by Alex Katz, which I saw in an exhibition at the Albertina. Thanks to their Cool Painting exhibition, the same museum offers more chances to admire the work of this iconic US artist. Cool Painting (Alex Katz, Coca-Cola [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56697"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83730,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56697\/revisions\/83730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}