Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) was born in Rotterdam and immigrated illegally to the United States in 1926, eventually settling in New York. He became a key figure within abstract expressionism, the movement which came to dominate the American art world in the wake of World War II. Unlike many contemporaries who rejected visible reality, De Kooning continued to veer between figuration and abstraction. His famous words ‘Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented’ underscore his fascination for the human body and the sensuality of oil paint.

After working for a time as a house painter and decorator, De Kooning became an independent artist in the 1930s. While his early work was visibly influenced by cubism and surrealism, he first attracted attention in the 1940s with a more rough and expressive style. In the 1950s, De Kooning gained worldwide fame for the Women series: distorted female figures rendered in strong, dynamic brushstrokes. The female form, the landscape and exploring how to merge the two remained common themes. In his later work, such as Zonder titel XV, his style became more fluid and lyrical, featuring colourful abstract landscapes. De Kooning continued painting well until the early 1990s despite suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s.

His canvases often boast many successive layers of paint, which he applied and removed with brushes, palette knives and his bare hands. The result was a dynamic and intricately varied surface. The artist would sometimes work on a painting for years, intuitively searching for the right form. He experimented constantly with new materials as well, such as slow-drying oil paint to extend the malleability of the paint film. Besides paintings, he also made drawings, lithographs and sculptures.