Alex Katz on His Early Career and the Search for an Aggressive Surface

In a 2009 interview with Erik Verhagen for Art Press, Alex Katz discusses his early career, his position between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, and his pursuit of an 'aggressive surface' inspired by television. The interview coincides with his first French retrospective, 'Alex Katz, An American Way of Seeing' at the Musée de Grenoble (July 4–September 27, 2009), curated by Éric de Chassey. Katz explains that his early work was chronologically valid as a precursor to Pop, with Abstract Expressionism as his formal grammar. He notes that his evolution was fluid, with shifts in style from simple figures to large heads in the 1960s and large landscapes in the 1990s. He acknowledges that young painters worldwide now find his work relevant. Katz describes his process: small preliminary paintings are intuitive, while large formats require refinement for clarity and physical impact. He distinguishes between portraits, which demand precise drawing, and landscapes, which are more gestural and open. Katz states that his paintings have no narrative or psychological content; their only content is style. He cites John Currin and Peter Doig as risk-taking contemporaries. The interview also touches on his use of mechanical images, particularly television's aggressive surface in the early 1960s, which he sought to replicate in paint. Katz's favorite model is his wife Ada, but he insists that depictions of her and their son Vincent are merely formal ideas, not personal nostalgia.