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Quote by Willem de Kooning

“Every so often, a painter has to destroy painting. Cezanne did it, Picasso did it with Cubism. Then Pollock did it. He busted our idea of a picture all to hell. Then there could be new paintings again.”

Quote by Willem de Kooning

Author

Willem de Kooning

Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-born American abstract expressionist painter. Known for his bold colors and dynamic brushstrokes, his work had a profound impact on 20th-century art. more

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“Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented”

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“Even abstract shapes must have a likeness”

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“I make pictures and someone comes in and calls it art.”

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“When I played Robin Hood, I knew the great role was Alan Rickman's and it didn't bother me. I always think that leading actors should be called the best supporting actors.”

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“An artist is forced by others to paint out of his own free will.”

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“My interest in desperation lies only in that sometimes I find myself having become desperate. Very seldom do I start out that way. I can see of course that, in the abstract, thinking and all activity is rather desperate.”

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Book:Willem de Kooning: Pittsburgh International Series, October 26, 1979-January 6, 1980, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute

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“Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical. He acts from or upon other artists.”

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“I paint the way I do because I can keep on putting more and more things in - like drama, pain, anger, love, a figure, a horse, my ideas of space. It doesn't matter if it differs from mine, as long as it comes from the painting, which has its own integrity and intensity.”

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“Im not someone whos ever said anything definitive about his work. In my life also I have very little fixed form. I can change overnight.”

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“Art should not have to be a certain way.”

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