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In Process at the Corcoran

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Art museums all over the world present the finished products of artists, but it is rare to find an exhibit that shows the thought process as the artist goes through their work.

Such an exhibit has just opened at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Willem de Kooning: In Process runs through May 28 and features not only de Kooning's abstract works, but glimpses into how he created other pieces from ones already completed.

DeKooning used tracing paper and vellum to copy sections or the entire work of pieces he had created or was working on. He then retraced them to create new works. The exhibit is laid out to show the connections from one painting to another, showing the contrast between a fluid look through paint versus the more defined look of the charcoal tracings.

The paintings are in an array of colors: oranges against cobalt blues, teal against magenta, yellow and cream and red with a tint of green. There are similar elements that show up from one painting to another—eyes, a particular curved line, winglike shapes.

This is the last stop on the de Kooning tour. This exhibit has also been seen in Hourton, Fourt Lauderdale, East Hampton and Aspen before landing in Washington D.C.

If you get there to see the de Kooning exhibit before May 14, be sure to stop by the Hemicycle, a semicircular gallery that has been turned over to weekly exhibitions by the senior B.F.A. students about to graduate from the Corcoran School of Art. These students are about to step out into the professional art world, and some of their work is extraordinary. Click here for information on which students will be featured next and the time and date of the opening reception for each week's exhibit.

Adult admission to the museum is $5.

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