T List: Alex Katz’s New “Autumn” Exhibit in Chicago

After a retrospective featuring work that spanned nearly eight decades at the Guggenheim last year, the artist Alex Katz, 96, would have every reason to sit back and enjoy the accolades. But as a new show that opens at Gray Chicago next month proves, Katz is still driven by a need to create. “What gets me going every morning is knowing I’m going into the studio to paint,” he says. While many of his landscapes have been inspired by Lincolnville, Me., where Katz has spent several months of the year since the 1950s, the 11 new compositions on view (which will be presented alongside a series of 16 new ink portraits on paper) started taking shape on crisp morning walks that Katz took in New York last fall. “I looked up and saw all these colored leaves against a blue sky. They were relatively small trees, and the leaves stood out distinctly,” he recalls. “I felt a sensation of brightness and tried to paint this sensation.” Across enormous canvases (some measuring as wide as 14 feet), he depicts the windblown trees and delicate foliage of the changing season in vibrant golds, greens and reds. Painted in a kinetic, impressionistic style, these panoramic works create an almost immersive experience. “Alex Katz: Autumn” is on view at Gray Chicago from Sept. 8 through Oct. 28, richardgraygallery.com.