Exhibition
May 23, 2023 - June 21, 2023
Under the Influence | Contemporary Artists and the Masters Who Inspire Them
View the Exhibition →About
Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, Willem de Kooning produced work in both figurative and abstract styles. His first one-person show in New York in 1948 featured a series of black and white paintings and established his reputation as an abstract painter; however, it was not until 1953, when de Kooning exhibited a controversial group of paintings of women at the Sidney Janis Gallery, that he came to fame. With the notoriety elicited by these provocative images built from slashing brushstrokes and slicing lines, de Kooning’s reputation was secured as a leader of abstract expressionism.
After moving to Easthampton in 1963, his primary inspiration came from the Long Island landscape, both the land and the surrounding water. This subject matter allowed him to compose vigorous compositions in which forms emerge and are submerged. Throughout his long career, de Kooning’s art has been featured in numerous national and international exhibitions and museums.
Exhibitions with Somerville Manning Gallery
2023 Under the Influence | Contemporary Artists and the Masters Who Inspire Them, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE