Two Figures in Dunes

1968

Valentine (G. 16)

Willem de Kooning’s rapid progression from representational to non-representational painting occurred during the late 1950s into the early 1960s. His legendary Women series over, he began to find inspiration from sources other than the human form, namely that of landscape. In addition, the sharp lines and geometric patterns that had categorized his earlier work began to smooth out into curvatures and fields of space and color. This gave de Kooning’s new work a more reflective element, as it no longer contained the anger and rigor of his earlier paintings and drawings. De Kooning also began to venture into the realm of sculpture, bringing his newly found fluidity and softness into the third dimension. In his works on paper, de Kooning followed the same trajectory: definite figure began to morph into indefinite shape, smoother yet more mysterious than before.