TAMPA, FLA.- The Tampa Museum of Art is presenting a survey of black and white works by the legendary artist Alex Katz (American, b. 1927). This exhibition features Katz’s signature portraits of family and friends, renderings of Maine’s countryside, and ephemeral still lifes. The stark contrasts in light and shadow, as well as the emphasis on line and form, illustrate the beauty of Katz’s reductive black and white landscapes and figurative work. A select group of color works illustrate the relationship between Katz’s vibrant palette and the graphic quality of his black and white prints.

Joanna Robotham, Curator of contemporary and Modern Art, stated, “I am thrilled the Tampa Museum of Art will present this important survey of Alex Katz’s black and white works. One of today’s most revered artists, Katz continues to create iconic portraits and timeless landscapes. It’s a pleasure to bring Katz’s art back to the Tampa Bay area in this extensive exhibition. Alex Katz: Black and White allows visitors to see the relationship between Katz’s graphic black and white prints and his bold color paintings, which is critical to understanding the extensive breadth of the artist’s oeuvre.”

Born in 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, Alex Katz studied painting at The Cooper Union Art School. His work has been showed around the world with great acclaim with major exhibitions organized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Tate Modern, London; Albertina, Vienna; and others. Katz’s work resides in the collections of over 100 museums including the Art Institute of Chicago; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1996, the Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz opened at the Colby Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, and includes over 900 works by the artist. Katz continues to live and work in New York City.