de Kooning Show at MOMA

All the magazines this month are carrying reviews of the de Kooning show at MOMA.  Everyone agrees that it is a terrific show.  Some critics are saying that the show has caused them to re-evaluate de Kooning’s career.  They believe that de Kooning, not Pollack or Rothko, is the master of abstract expressionism.

I have always liked de Kooning’s early work.  What made me a fan was the series of women paintings of about 1959-1962.  But the series was just a small part of de Koonings many styles. 

What none of the wall texts had mentioned was how de Kooning constructed his paintings.  I once watched a documentary of  him at work; he would compose with tracing paper moving around various shapes on the canvas.  In the film, you could see shapes and lines being built up and other areas painted over or obscured.

The de Kooning show seems to have made quite an impact on me.  I am now beginning to work much more spontaneously and confidently.  We shall see how things work out.