Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Marais is showcasing “New Landscapes,” American artist Alex Katz’s most recent series of work.The exhibition features around 20 sketches of landscapes as well as a number of large-scale landscape paintings that exemplify Katz’s ongoing commitment to capturing the present tense.“I am not a colorist; I have never been interested in the potency of color,” Katz has said. “I am captivated by the power of light and the type of light that a color exudes. It’s the instantaneous light. If you get it right then you get it in the total present tense – that’s what you’re going for, that’s eternity.”Katz’s “New Landscapes” are executed in his signature refined style: a simple yet allegorical vocabulary defined by its flat forms, bold colors, and economy of line. The curatorial statement describes a brushstroke as invoking a branch, a touch of paint transforming into a leaf, or lines recalling the shape of a window.A majority of these landscapes, which Katz describes as “environmental,” were realized at his summer residence and studio in Maine. He credits the light of Maine for helping separate him from European painting and find his own eyes; this light is darker and richer than that of the Impressionists.“New Landscapes” runs through July 30 at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Marais.
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