Going to see the Dekooning exhibit in the MoMA was amazing. Going into the MoMA, you know that you are about to see something that has changed the modern art world drastically. And Dekooning certainly did not disappoint. Going up to the sixth floor, we pass all of the other artists works that either preceded Dekooning, or were effected by his work. When we finally reached the sixth floor, I was shocked. Dekooning had the entire floor to himself. What struck me the most was the amount of paintings that the MoMA displayed. Thier permanent collection of Dekooning works is enormous. Because of the sheer volume, the Museum could display a time line of his work.
As we walked in, we saw the earliest of Dekooning’s work. It was interesting to see his realistic depictions of things because he is so famous for Woman 1 and for being so abstract. It was nice to see a different style of art from Dekooning. It was also fascinating to see his transformation. As we moved throughout the exhibit we saw all the stages the artist went through. Another one of my favorite sections was the black and white images in second phase of his artistic career. The paintings were simple but expressed a lot through the stark contrast between black and white.
Following the path we came across Dekooning’s most celebrated work; Woman 1. If the painting would have been in a regular gallery, we would not have known the different creative styles that Dekooning went through to produce this work. We can appreciate the different contours and colors that are displayed in the image so much more now that we have seen the rest of his work. I understand now why he is considered one of the masters of abstract expressionism. Also, I liked that the show did not end with Woman 1. It is as if saying that Dekooning was still extremely influential and produced many more artistic works of genius. I loved the last gallery that was his 1980s works. They reminded me of the black and white ones from the earlier gallery.
All in all, I thought the exhibit was excellently put together, and allowed viewers to see the complete life of Dekooning!
