Willem De Kooning, tracing the figure

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Willem de Kooning, a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, explored the human form with a skeptical view of Western beauty ideals, focusing on anatomical fragmentation and spatial ambiguity to capture the fleeting nature of individuality. This beautifully designed book accompanies an exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, showcasing de Kooning's drawings of the female form from 1940 to 1955. It highlights his struggle to blur the lines between drawing and painting while examining the relationship between figures and their backgrounds. Initially influenced by early-twentieth-century abstraction, de Kooning would redraw lines repeatedly until he achieved the desired image. From 1947-49, he began to merge abstraction with figuration, dismembering and rearranging figures in seemingly random ways. His evolving compositions transformed geometric shapes into architectural elements, creating ambiguous spaces. In 1951, he returned to depicting women with turbulent brushwork, turning them into monumental, distorted images that oscillate between flat patterns and rounded forms, evoking a sense of violent sensuality. His later works, while retaining familiar shapes and hues, present women as distorted figures, akin to views seen underwater. As critic Thomas Hess noted, "Woman, for de Kooning, is the human equivalent of water; more than a vessel, she embodies it in planes of rippling flesh."