Berkeley #32 1955

Richard Diebenkorn painted Berkeley #32 with oil on canvas in the mid-20th century, during a period of significant social and political change. Diebenkorn, who served in the military during World War II, later moved to the Bay Area, a region known for its progressive politics and artistic innovation. The Berkeley series reflects an ongoing negotiation between abstraction and representation. What do we make of the tension between the landscape and the artist’s interiority? The bold colors and horizontal bands are reminiscent of the Northern Californian landscape, yet Diebenkorn’s subjective experience and emotional response remains palpable. Consider how Diebenkorn translates personal experience into abstract forms. His work creates new ways of seeing and feeling the world around us. The raw emotion and layered forms of Berkeley #32 captures a sense of the fragmented yet cohesive nature of identity and place.