Untitled [seated female nude arranging her left foot] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink on paper drawing of a seated nude, and just look at how he’s thinking through the form. It’s all about the touch of the ink, how it blooms on the page. Diebenkorn’s really playing with the push and pull between representation and abstraction. See how the washes of ink create depth, but then he’ll interrupt it with these bold, graphic lines that flatten the space? The way the ink bleeds into the paper around her neck, it's almost violent, but then it’s balanced by this real tenderness in the curve of her shoulder. It reminds me a bit of Matisse, that same searching quality. Ultimately, this piece feels like a conversation, and it's up to us to listen in. We’re invited to see the world in a different way, where beauty and imperfection coexist.