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AsasculptorRaoulHaguerecaststheguregroundrelationshipasthatofvolumeandvoid.Hiscarvedstoneorwoodsculpturesofthe1930sand40swereself-containedvolumetricguresthatstoodindependentofthespacearoundthem.Hedepartedfromliteralg-urationandembracedabstractforminthe50sanditwasnotlongafterthathebegantoopenuphismassesandintroducednegativespaceintohisincreasinglycomplexshapes.Haguesrawmaterialswerefourtosixfootsectionsoftreetrunksandintimehestartedtofavorthesectionswherethetrunkseparatesintobranches.Ingarrisonfrom1967heworkedintothesolidmassofthetrunkdramaticallyopeninguptwoopposingdiagonalsthatechoasmallremnantofabranchingtrunk.Itisaworkinwhichitisdiculttodecipherwhatmighthavebeentheoriginalshapeofthewood.Itisduringhislateworkofthe1980sand90sthatHaguemostradicallyexploredthevoidswithinthevolumes.SycamoreSummerfrom1992ishislastnishedworkandhasneverbeenexhibiteduntilnow.Thesculpturehasoneverticalspinethatshowstheorigi-naloutercontourofthetrunkoneithersideofwhichthevolumeofthewoodhasbeenopenedupallthewaytoitscore.Itisamul-tifacetedshapethatpresentsremarkablydierentcompositionsdependingontheviewersvantagepoint.Acentralconcernwiththecompositionaldynamicbetweeng-ureandgroundwasnotalwaysintheforefrontofthemanyart-worksmadebyWillemdeKooningRaoulHagueandJoanMitchellduringtheirlongandproductivelives.Theircommandofcolorandtactilitytheirresourcefulnessasmasterfullyinventivevisualart-istsandtheirsheerpowersofcreativeexpressionareprodigious.Wefoundanewmeasureofserendipityinreimagininganexhibi-tionthatwasoriginallypresentedshortlyafterthedeathsofMitch-ellandHagueandnotlongbeforedeKooningsandaregladtohaveanopportunitytoshowtheseworkstoalargelynewaudienceinadierentcontextoftimeandplace.j