DINING
Janis Gardner Cecil, Alex Katz and Chef Daniel Boulud at DANIEL, October 2021, in front of Katz’s painting, Tree, 2019.
The main dining room at DANIEL with Water Hyacinth, 2009, by Alex Katz. Photographed by Thomas Schauer
you learn things about it. I think of a dish in that way; there is a different way of reflecting on it, especially when it becomes artistic. JGC: Having the level of cuisine we are talking about here, which is what you create, is a complex thing. Savoring it, literally digesting it into your own body, is another way of internalizing a piece of art. I mean, we can never eat a painting, but it certainly affects your soul. And I have to say that really amazing food absolutely affects you. ‘‘I THINK THAT And, like visual art, the more you ALEX KATZ IS know about the technique and the A GRADUATION TO thought behind the process, the more THE MASTER!” you appreciate it. Alex Katz: “A graduation to the master!” JGC: The installation of paintings by Alex Katz has been very well received. Do you have a favorite painting of the four that are on view? DB: Yes, well since I have been having art in all of my restaurants, I think that Alex Katz is a graduation to the master! I think the one I like the most is the little tree. Of course, I love the hyacinths and the freshness of the hyacinths and the garden, but the little tree in the prairie, not even a prairie, exactly, but that lonely tree. This is the kind of painting I would love to have at home because I would never get tired of it. This is the kind of painting [that] you can meditate in front of, it will be there for you, and you feel good with it. It’s very special.
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JGC: Well, when you look at that painting up close, you can see that there are many layers of color wash in the technique. It’s very sophisticated. It’s a bit deceptive because from afar you think it might be simple. DB: That’s what I love, the shadowy layers of the color wash. It’s really abstract in a way, but then the tree in the middle of that makes the whole thing work. It’s almost like the preparation of the base was more important than the tree, and then the tree brings a focus to that. JGC: The painting is almost a purely abstract painting, with a color field, but then when Katz adds the tree, the color field becomes the ground and there is a horizon created with the washes. The tree completely changes the understanding of the painting; what had been “abstract” becomes a landscape. My Dream: “A studio for myself ” DB: My real dream one day will be to build a studio for myself, and maybe paint for myself. I don’t think it will be for any commercial purpose, just for myself. JGC: That’s a wonderful thing! Well, in the meantime we are the beneficiaries of all of your creativity! There is so much amazing material here, Daniel, thank you so much. The Alex Katz and Robert Mapplethorpe installation will be on view at Restaurant DANIEL through August 2023. P danielnyc.com jgcfineart.com
3/9/22 11:47 PM
