Excavation

Excavation
Willem de Kooning, Excavation, 1950
By MILES KNIGHT

Willem de Kooning often painted just on the edge of a style, making it easy to shift to a new look and experiment with his works. Excavation is a prime example of his experimentation of style. He contrasts the ideas of abstraction and figuration through the use of short jumbled lines and recognizable shapes. While Excavation is more on the abstract side of the spectrum, many objects can be found such as mouths, human noses, and other body parts. 

Excavation takes a turn from the abstract figure painting he was doing at the time. In fact, Excavation was painted the same he started one of his most famous paintings, Woman I.  De Kooning used a technique that many other painters used at the time. The process includes building up layers of paint and then scraping them off to achieve a flat, monotone texture. This technique is an intense and time-consuming process that shows De Kooning's attention to detail even in a painting that can seem hectic. 
  • 7:00 AM

Progression of Human Form - Woman V

Shahzad Aslam
Progression of Human Form
Curated by Shahzad Aslam
Willem de Kooning, Woman V, 1953 
Abstract Expressionism is a movement in art history concerned with high intensity, emotionality, rebelliousness, and dealing with a world in the post-World War II landscape. Woman V by Willem De Kooning encompasses and builds on all the previous movements that came before it ranging from impressionism to surrealism. This interpretation of the human form combines various elements from the movements preceding it to produce a truly modern composition. The mangled face and chaotic application of paint produce a terrifying effect, similar to the gut reactions induced by surrealist and cubist works. In Woman V, the human form is depicted not through anatomical correctness or realism, but purely through emotion intensity. You don’t see the woman necessarily, but you definitely feel her pain and anger. If this were simply another portrait piece, the disturbing and shocking qualities of the piece would be stripped away. The piece would become about some woman rather then embodying the feelings of thousands of women who suffered during World War II.

  • 12:00 AM