The viewing’s easy Alex Katz revels in summertime BY MAGGIE KNOWLES

"Everything in our house was so damn bizarre," Alex Katz recalls of his childhood home, where the wall colors constantly rotated through a brilliant, shocking palate and where his staircase doodles, rather than being scrubbed clean, would become part of the décor. Despite his wacky boyhood, the paintings that come from his talented hand are common — scenes of everyday life, Seinfeldian in that they are, well, about nothing.

Suzette Lane McAvoy, curator at Rockland’s Farnsworth Museum, where "Alex Katz in Maine" will be exhibited through September, says that due to Katz’s long association with the state and the role Maine played in the development of his work, an examination of his Maine paintings is long overdue. Due to space limitations, however, this exhibit is not a comprehensive retrospective, rather a focus on his themes since 1950.

The themes are happy ones, simple yet endearing moments featuring his family (especially his wife Ada, who in his eyes is a "true American beauty"), the local lobster pound, and the surroundings of his Lincolnville summer home. He especially is fond of Coleman Pond, where the fit 77-year old swims daily — before his six-mile bike ride to buy a copy of the New York Times. In "Self Portrait," he is neck deep in the pond, a full smile upon his wrinkle-free face. But that is how connected he is to that place — he couldn’t artistically define himself without submerging himself in it.

Katz purchased the home, affectionately called the Yellow House, in 1950 after he came to Maine to attend the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting. It was there he "found the reason to devote (his) life to painting." The largest canvas in the exhibit, measuring 48" x 130", is "9 p.m." In a Hopper-ish manner (another artist who had spent many a summer painting the same area as Katz) he shows only a top corner of the house, teasing the viewer into wanting to know what is going on in the brightly lit room. The majority of the canvas is black; a few indigo shapes are the dying breaths of sunset. Though haunting, the slice of yellow is a haven, an arm of hope against the chilly woods.

"Yellow House 2" is a much more jolly piece. The viewer is pulled into the center window, the spots of sunlight and vivid branches are rushing in as if a giant vacuum is sucking all the glorious light inside.

Katz is captivated, as are many artists who find delight in painting Maine, by the light. "Maine’s light is richer and darker than light in Impressionist paintings," he says in an essay by Sanford Schwartz. It was this magical light that helped the artist "find his own eyes." Katz’s use of light-play is similar to Fairfield Porter’s — intensely brilliant, optimistic, and lush. "Field" and "Ives Field" are abstract ideas of perfect summer days spent grazing through pastures, the sun so strong it even finds its way between your toes. The oranges, yellows, and blues are painted in full force, nothing is held back in putting forth the beauty of the day.

Katz prefers plein-air painting. During his summer stays, he paints on-site small oils, which are transported to his NYC studio and remade into the works you see at the exhibit. His works are big, perhaps influenced by the billboards he sees from his city pad. The size works. Even though some of the paintings are nothing but a few swirls and dabs of colors, like "Afternoon Light," the vastness invites crowds in all at once — there’s room for all of us to be rolling in the grass and swimming in the pond and napping under the trees. It makes the moment universal, and since they are simple themes, they touch on each viewer’s memory of their own Maine summers.

The Farnsworth owns a few Katz works that are not included in this exhibit, but are on display. Check them out and compare. They are early works and quite abstract. 1954’s "Pink Landscape" and "Pale Landscape" have an urgency to them as if they were rushed so as not to miss a moment of the passing spring light. Patches and swipes of pastel greens, pinks, and blues are the bouquets that surround him, their feminine fragrance infusing his mind and brush. "Five People at the Table" is a wonderful, moment of friends enjoying the conversation that has extended much past lunch. Their faceless forms allow each of us to place ourselves there, a quick respite from the day at hand.

All of Katz’s works feel like vacation. They are mindful of the lazy time, rolling breezes, and drenching light that makes Maine the only place to be in the summer. Take a slow ride to the Farnsworth (top down, should you be so lucky) and mosey around Katz’s world for a while — you will never want to leave.

Maggie Knowles can be reached at margaretknowles@yahoo.com