After wondering around the Willem de Kooning gallery and feeling upset due to my inability to understand the abstract paintings of de Kooning, I find a painting that is distinguished from the rest of the paintings of de Kooning in south gallery.

Clam Diggers 1963 (MoMA website)

This painting is named Clam Digger. The painting’s style is very different from the style of de Kooning’s previous paintings. After listen to the audio (very useful tool), I am informed that the shift of de Kooning’s style since 1963 is resulted from his new environment.

In 1963, de Kooning moved from New York City to Springs, near Eastern Hampton, Long Island. In the audio, de Kooning said that he was influenced by the water and light there, which explains the wavy style of this painting. According to the audio, the women in this painting had been called trembling figures. The women figures in this painting lost any outline around them, and it seems like it is completely composed of light and reflected in water. The brush in this painting is very soft, which is not the same as the heavy brush used in de Kooning’s prior paintings. This painting gives me an impression of happiness and relaxing and it lacks the aggression used to be in the paintings de Kooning made in New York City. The new scene in the new environment seems like had given him brand new idea of life.

Even though I do not appreciate some other paintings of de Kooning art, I like this painting best. It does not contain any tension that is common in his other paintings. It brings some pleasure and harmony. The colors and light in this painting are also very warm.

Even thought the abstractness of the contemporary visual arts is not accessible to me, I like its aim of conveying ideas, thoughts and feelings, not simply a depiction of an object like the paintings of Frans Hals.