After the passing of her father in 1942, Koen, at the age of 60, sold the family home in Rock Island, IL, cleared her artist studio, and traveled to Mexico with her sister in tow. Enamored by the landscape and the culture, Koen decided to remain in Mexico for the rest of her life. By this time she had established a reputation as a modern artist in the United States, but in Mexico, “she could paint for herself completely,” notes Cynthia Wiedemann Empen, an expert on Koen’s life. Dawn was produced during Koen’s first years in her new home, and is an example of the artist’s early attempts at expressive painting. Koen has depicted the moment before sunrise over a mountainous region near Cuernevaca, a city just south of Mexico City. To compose the picture heavy layers of paint were applied using a palette knife, a tool that requires swiping and scraping, and leaves traces of the artist’s movement behind.

July 22, 2020