On Monday morning, August 18th, at 7 a.m., the removal of the three bronze statues of Willem de Kooning from Hofplein began. Due to the redevelopment of Hofplein, Seated Woman, Reclining Figure en Standing Figure temporarily stored elsewhere. In 2027, the statues will be replaced in the future green city square of Hofplein, designed by landscape architects Juurlink and Geluk.
In 1984, the Municipality of Rotterdam acquired the sculpture Seated Woman (1969) by Willem de Kooning, which was installed on Hofplein, a major intersection in the city. Thanks to the support of funds and the efforts of then-museum director Wim Beeren, the work was included in the Rotterdam sculpture collection. In honor of De Kooning's centenary (2004) and a retrospective at the Kunsthal (2005), CBK Rotterdam entered into a loan agreement with the Willem de Kooning Foundation, and Reclining Figure (1969) in Standing Figure (1969) also added to the Sculpturen International Rotterdam collection. Together, the three sculptures form a powerful ensemble at the beginning of the city boulevard.
