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Alex Katz: Theater and Dance

Location

Space

Dates

Since the late 1950s, Alex Katz has painted dancers and designed sets and costumes for theater and dance productions, and yet this will be the first comprehensive museum presentation of Katz’s highly collaborative and playful work with choreographers, dancers, and members of avant-garde theater ensembles. Organized by the Colby Museum with the guidance of curator Robert Storr, the artist himself, and a curatorial team, Alex Katz: Theater and Dance will offer an unparalleled opportunity to experience Katz’s designs and his process. It will also show how painting and design for the stage have intertwined in Katz’s work.

Painting of two identical figures wearing pink jumpsuits with one red and one green arm. They hold their arms arched and above their heads, leaning towards eachother.
In a painting by artist Alex Katz, a group of dancers wearing red shirts and pink pants stand facing different directions with their left arms lifted above their heads.

Travel Details

Baker Museum
Naples, Florida
October 12, 2024–February 2, 2025

Frye Museum
Seattle, Washington
February 22–June 8, 2025

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
San Diego, California
August 21–January 11, 2026

About the Artist

Photograph of Alex Katz smiling, holding a paper cup and wearing a pink bucket hat

Related Media

A female dancer in a white dress leaps on stage, surrounded by male dancers in khaki uniforms with a leafy backdrop.

Catalogue

Book cover for Alex Katz: Theater and Dance

Installation Views

  • Painting of five figures in red clothing performing gestures beside one a small matching sculpture of a woman in red posed on a plinth to the right.
  • Two artworks hung side by side on a textured wall: one, a silhouette of an embracing couple in color; the other, a framed grayscale depiction of the same pair.
  • Four large preparatory figure drawings mounted side-by-side on a pale gallery wall.
  • Colorful paintings of figures in motion across two gallery walls.
  • Sculpture with mirrored panels reflecting surrounding paintings depicting dancers in motion.
  • Square metal frame sculpture and four paintings with stylized dancers.
  • Gallery with geometric sculpture of an outlined cube surrounded by walls with colorful figurative paintings.
  • Lobby with coffee table and two chairs positioned in front of a wall with exhibition introduction text with title "Alex Katz Theater & Dance, a black-and-white photograph of the artist with an artwork, and several paragraphs of text." On the adjacent wall, a doorway labeled "Schupf Wing" and a painting with two figures dancing.

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers

Installation view of Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, 2023. Photo: Luc Demers