Born in Brooklyn in 1927, Alex Katz can look back on a career spanning over 70 years. After studying at the Cooper Union Art School and the Skowhegan School in Maine, he developed a distinctive style that was significantly influenced by plein air painting. Today, Katz is considered an important precursor of Pop Art, with his works often incorporating elements from film, advertising and billboards. He is best known for his large-format, almost cartoon-like portraits with monochrome backgrounds. In the 1950s, he initially experimented with small collages made from fine strips of paper and later focussed on portraits of his wife and muse Ada.

He has developed innovative techniques such as painting on shaped aluminium plates and since 2015 has often used mobile phone photos as the basis for his compositions. In addition to painting, Katz is a successful printmaker and produces editions in screen printing, lithography and woodcut. His art is also firmly anchored in public space, for example through murals and billboards in New York's Times Square. His works are characterised by a masterful refinement of aesthetics and framing that creates an immediate connection with the viewer and reflects the social world of the painters and poets around him.