The Originals: Alex Katz's paintings used to make gallery visitors scream.
In an era where seemingly everything is mined for inspiration—or, let’s be frank, appropriation—what does it take to be truly one of a kind? A willingness to break the rules is essential; a strong sense of personal style certainly doesn't hurt; but most of all, you need to have a truly meaningful point of view. Atsome of our favorite people who are constantly pushing boundaries, and asked them to share valuable insights.
You’ve been living in SoHo since the ’60s, apart from spending three months in Maine each year. Do you feel like the only artist who’s still in SoHo? How have you seen it change? Well, we bought the building for the price of the land. SoHo was like an industrial slum, with paper and fur all over the sidewalks. Many of the buildings were used as storage, and the others were usually servicing the garment industry, which was on Broadway. When we got the place, we figured the people always follow the artists. I think I’m the only one who’s been there for this long. I’m very old, you know. [He’s 92.
One of the key reasons you started working on a massive scale was to defy the Abstract Expressionists. How did they respond? When I had an opening, the Abstract Expressionist friends of mine wouldn’t go into the gallery. They just stopped in to say, “We’ll see you later at the bar.” I wanted to knock de Kooning off the wall. He’s a great painter, but I wanted to put something up that would beat him up. All the people not taking me seriously, I wanted to tell them: “I have more muscle than you have.”Yes. It never stops. I think it has to do with my father. He was always better than any man at anything he wanted to do.
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