Adrian Stein

Created in collaboration with the Art Institute of Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet, Excavation of Movement by Adrian Stein is an original ten-panel film that carries de Kooning’s work beyond the museum walls and onto the Magnificent Mile. Rather than recreating his paintings, the piece interprets them; translating the lines, brushstrokes, and raw physicality of his practice into choreography and digital media. Dancers from The Joffrey Ballet performed original movement inspired by de Kooning’s expressive line work in front of his art within the Art Institute’s galleries, while a film crew captured the performance in intimate detail. Composed specifically for The Canopy’s 190 feet of LED screens, the film treats dance as the natural language of Abstract Expressionism: de Kooning painted with his whole body, and Excavation of Movement makes that motion visible. On view through September 20, 2026, in tandem with Willem de Kooning Drawing at the Art Institute.