During the 1960s, Alex Katz's art underwent significant developments that further established his unique place in the American art scene. This period marked a shift towards larger-scale works and the introduction of his iconic "cutouts," which blended the boundaries between painting and sculpture. Katz's cutouts began with panels of wood and later aluminum, occupying space like sculptures but retaining the flat, plane-like quality of paintings. This innovative approach allowed him to explore the physicality and presence of figures in three-dimensional space, a technique that lent his works a flickering, cinematic quality​ (Wikipedia)​. Katz's focus on groups of figures emerged more prominently after 1964, depicting the social world of painters, poets, critics, and other intellectuals in his circle. This was also the time when he started collaborating with choreographer Paul Taylor, designing sets and costumes for dance, which led to many paintings of dancers. His work "One Flight Up" (1968) is particularly notable, featuring over 30 portraits of New York's intelligentsia, rendered on slivers of aluminum arranged in long rows, showcasing the influential figures of the time, such as poet John Ashbery and art critic Irving Sandler​ (Wikipedia)​. In addition to his paintings, Katz embarked on a prolific career in printmaking during the 1960s, producing many editions in various techniques and contributing significantly to this medium over his lifetime. His printmaking work included collaborations with poets and writers, creating notable editions that combined his images with their poetry, further emphasizing his interdisciplinary interests​ (Wikipedia)​. Throughout the 1960s, Katz's canvases grew in size, and he produced a number of multipaneled paintings. This expansion in scale reflected his interest in both the School of Paris, especially Henri Matisse, and the American vernacular tradition. His paintings from this era continued to feature flat, unmodulated colored backgrounds, with a reductive style that became increasingly stylized​ (Encyclopedia Britannica)​. Katz's work in the 1960s, characterized by its simplified forms, flat planes of color, and exploration of the figure in both painting and sculpture, played a pivotal role in the evolution of his distinctive style. This period not only cemented his reputation as a leading figure in contemporary art but also set the stage for his later explorations in portraiture and landscape painting.