Untitled 1950 - 1951

Willem de Kooning made this untitled drawing with ink on paper, and what strikes me is its dance between intention and accident. The black ink is laid down in such a way that it’s hard to tell what was planned and what just happened. The ink’s thickness varies, from puddles and pooling to thin, scratchy lines. It’s like he's using the ink’s own fluidity to dictate the forms. I think there is a circular shape near the bottom, and it seems to anchor the composition, but then look at the drips that shoot off of it, suggesting the opposite – escape, movement, energy! Thinking about his contemporaries, maybe you see the loose, all-over compositions of someone like Jackson Pollock, but de Kooning adds a graphic sensibility that pushes it in another direction. Ultimately, this piece celebrates the messy, unpredictable nature of art-making.