Carter Ratcliff Knihy

Traces the history of Abstract Expressionism, and examines its political implications and the cultural context in which it developed

Featuring over 300 images, including many unpublished works, this comprehensive monograph explores the evolution of Alex Katz's unique American style. Accompanied by an insightful profile from a seasoned art historian who has studied Katz for over fifty years, the book offers an in-depth look at the artist's iconic paintings and their impact on contemporary art.

This substantial new catalogue is a major addition to existing scholarship on the important American artist James Rosenquist. Featuring numerous gatefold images, different papers and a silk ribbon, it contains commissioned essays by Carter Ratcliff--who argues that to label Rosenquist a Pop artist is to deny the complexity of his oeuvre and diminish his achievement--and Sarah Bancroft, who suggests that the notion of abstraction is key to understanding all of Rosenquist's work, from 1960 onward, and not just the "overtly abstract" paintings of the past seven years. In addition, in a wide-ranging interview with Scott Rothkopf, the artist discusses the place of political engagement in his work, the importance of collage, his ongoing fascination with time and the element of "It's like taking drugs. It has to be exciting to be able to paint it. You have to feel it's worthwhile doing it, to really pull it off."