Alex Katz—whose drawings are the subject of a retrospective at Richard Gray’s Chicago and New York galleries—is one of the most successful artists alive, but I’m baffled as to why that’s the case. Coming of age during the era of abstract expressionism and pop art, Katz carved out a niche with his flat, billboard-style drawings and paintings of his friends and family and their surroundings. His subjects couldn’t be picked out of a lineup, his landscapes aren’t on any map—he’s not much for specifics. But many of the paintings are bright and take up a lot of space, which must be pleasing to the rare collector who can afford one.
The one part of Katz’s work that has any energy is his use of color. Every now and then a yellow comes up against a blue, and there’s actually a little vibration. The drawings at Richard Gray don’t have that luxury. Nobody acknowledged my presence for the 20 or so minutes I spent there. It all felt like an elaborate con: The tastefully minimal room filled with barely drawn drawings. Perhaps not the emperor’s new clothes, but only because were he drawn by Alex Katz there would be nothing to cover up.
