.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
"I learned a lot doing sets and costumes in terms of scale. I learned a lot from Paul in terms of gestures and relationships between people. I learned from Paul that all your pieces don't have to be the same. I learned from Paul never to be complacent towards the public. I learned a lot from Paul in terms of styling ideas. I learned a lot from Paul that the one person you don't want to bore is yourself." -Alex Katz
In 1960, Alex Katz began collaborating with the choreographer and dancer Paul Taylor, creating costumes and set designs for Taylor's dance company. Over the course of 26 years, the two artists would work together on over 14 performances, one of which was a piece titled Private Domain, a rehearsal for which is depicted in the present lot. Katz depicts the scene on a monumental scale - the dancers become modern monoliths against the stark gray background of the stage on which they perform. Katz often depicted scenes of groups of people interacting in everyday life, at cocktail parties for example. However, what is interesting and unusual in Private Domain, is that the figures overlap in the pictorial space. Katz accurately depicts the intimate nature of dancing, not only in the physical sense in that the dancers are touching one another, but also in the psychological sense as the dancers look out to the audience in order to engage with the viewer and with each other.
In 1960, Alex Katz began collaborating with the choreographer and dancer Paul Taylor, creating costumes and set designs for Taylor's dance company. Over the course of 26 years, the two artists would work together on over 14 performances, one of which was a piece titled Private Domain, a rehearsal for which is depicted in the present lot. Katz depicts the scene on a monumental scale - the dancers become modern monoliths against the stark gray background of the stage on which they perform. Katz often depicted scenes of groups of people interacting in everyday life, at cocktail parties for example. However, what is interesting and unusual in Private Domain, is that the figures overlap in the pictorial space. Katz accurately depicts the intimate nature of dancing, not only in the physical sense in that the dancers are touching one another, but also in the psychological sense as the dancers look out to the audience in order to engage with the viewer and with each other.