And if you could see the lifeвЂ™s work all at once thereвЂ™s no overall evaluation to be made that would be вЂњaveraging averagesвЂќвЂ“вЂ“it doesnвЂ™t work for mathematics and it wonвЂ™t work for art criticism. Even if it were possible to evaluate a lifeвЂ™s work, it would not be fair to do it on the basis of anotherвЂ™s selection, or even the selection of the artist himself. So the вЂњqualityвЂќ of an artist is something of a fiction. If you get right down to it he is only great when he is painting a great painting. A вЂњgreat artistвЂќ is one who has produced вЂњgreat paintingsвЂќ in the past and may do so in the future. Actually, there are only great and not-so-great paintings. This kind of show leads you to evaluate the artist, to think de Kooning is a great artist, or not so great, or whatever. It is difficult to resist generalizations about quality induced by a retrospective of any artistвЂ™s work.

Since quality is often associated with style, it is tempting to judge all Abstract Expressionist paintings by the quality of the paintings of the best-known advocate of the style and to size up Abstract Expressionism rather than what one artist did with it.

The reaction of painters against the several forms and mannerisms of Abstract Expressionism has been strong and extreme since 1962 and continues although that style has been displaced by newer styles. TO THE ART PUBLIC WILLEM DE KOONING is the вЂњcentralвЂќ or most typical Abstract Expressionist.

Willem de kooning woman