Though painting dominated Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning’s career, his bronze sculpture ‘Standing Figure’ takes over a room of paintings in a standout show of the iconic artist’s work at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea. Showcasing pieces from the ‘40s to the ‘80s, including major loans from MoMA and the Guggenheim and organized with the support of the Willem de Kooning Foundation, this expansive exhibition offers the opportunity to consider work from different periods of de Kooning’s career in light of his continual reference to the human body. Placed in proximity to nearly figurative work from early career to the pared down, elegant abstractions of his final painting years, this monumental bronze recalls de Kooning’s observation that “even abstract shapes must have a likeness.” (On view in Chelsea through June 14th).
