LONDON.- Now in his 82nd year, Alex Katz is one of the most significant artists of his generation. His distinctive portraits and lyrical landscapes are noted for their pristine flat surface and economy of line, depicting scenes from modern life. Katz’s minimal aesthetic was developed in the 1950s and was at the time, both an anticipation of Pop Art and a reaction to the prevalence of Abstract Expressionism. Katz has always been that intriguing thing: an artist’s artist. His influence is widely felt: many of today’s most successful contemporary artists from Peter Doig to Elizabeth Peyton