On November 11, the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation will honor painter Alex Katz at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, celebrating a decades-long creative partnership between Katz and the late choreographer Paul Taylor. The collaboration began in 1960 when poet Edwin Denby introduced them for a commission at the Spoleto Festival, leading to 16 works together including "Meridian," "Scudorama," "Private Domain," "Diggity," and "Sunset." At the gala, the company will perform "Sunset," which Katz conceived after observing soldiers in Madrid’s Retiro Park. Katz is also showing new paintings at Gladstone Gallery in New York, while the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego hosts "Alex Katz: Theater and Dance," the first major survey of his stage work.
This story matters because it highlights a rare, sustained cross-disciplinary collaboration that reshaped both modern dance and visual art. Katz’s insistence on flat white light and pastel colors broke with postwar dance conventions, while his stage designs—often reducing usable space—forced Taylor to innovate choreographically. Their creative tension produced works of lasting emotional resonance, and the gala and concurrent exhibitions underscore how Katz’s influence extends beyond the canvas into live performance. The partnership exemplifies how visual artists can fundamentally alter the language of dance, and the continued recognition of their work affirms its place in art history.