"Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Future"
2002-02-10 until 2002-03-28
Museum of Contemporary Art, LA and the Geffen Contemporary
Los Angeles, CA, USA

For the first time, Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure presents a comprehensive survey of de Kooning's drawings of the female form, from his 1938 surrealist-inspired portraits of Elaine de Kooning and Julie Brauner to his 1955 drawings when the figure dissipates into the landscape and abstraction.

Together, more than 70 assembled works on paper show the artist's struggle to eliminate traditional barriers between drawing and painting.

The exhibition highlights key pastels from 1952-1953 that were the centerpiece of de Kooning’s 1953 exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery in New York. Twelve of the original 16 works on paper will be exhibited together for the first time since that groundbreaking exhibition. This group of pastel and charcoal works represented the pinnacle of de Kooning’s examination of the female form.

IMAGE:
Willem de Kooning
Two Women
1951
Pastel on paper
21 1/2 x 17 1/2 in.
Collection Steve Martin

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of California

Other Important Exhibitions in Los Angeles