Self Portrait With Erased Willem De Kooning Drawing By Robert Rauschenberg
painting of me enjoying a Willem de Kooning drawing erased by Robert Rauschenberg

G. Boersma
acrylic on masonite
8" x 8" or 20 x 20 cm
2018

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On this self portrait you see me enjoying a Drawing by Willem de Kooning erased by Robert Rauschenberg. Yes you did read that right. The artwork by Rauschenberg is an erased drawing by De Kooning.

In the 50s Rauschenberg set out to discover whether an artwork could be produced entirely through erasure. An act focused on the removal of marks rather than their accumulation.

Rauschenberg first tried erasing his own drawings but ultimately decided that in order for the experiment to succeed he had to begin with an artwork that was undeniably significant in its own right.

He approached Willem de Kooning, an artist for whom he had tremendous respect, and asked him for a drawing to erase. Somewhat reluctantly, de Kooning agreed. 'I give you a hard one to erase,' he reportedly had said.

If you're interested in purchasing this small study just send me an email to [email protected] or click on the link above.

kind regards, Gerard

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