Miller 22 1951

Curator: Let’s take a moment with Richard Diebenkorn's "Miller 22" from 1951, an oil on canvas piece very evocative of Abstract Expressionism. Editor: Hmm, I'm getting a strong sense of quiet introspection from this. Almost like peering through a foggy windowpane. Curator: That's interesting. I see how the layering of pale hues and those assertive lines create a kind of obscured, interior space. Diebenkorn really wrestled with spatial relationships, didn't he? How the geometry plays on the surface, creating dynamic tension. Editor: Absolutely, those blacks, blues and grays operate within a field of soft whites and tans and they guide the eye across the canvas. It reminds me of deconstructing architectural plans—isolating shapes until something new emerges. Does this suggest any potential personal symbolism, perhaps? Curator: Possibly. Abstract Expressionism was often about channeling inner experience onto the canvas. It's easy to speculate, though what really resonates with me is Diebenkorn’s control within what feels like controlled spontaneity. A formal exploration of the interaction between order and intuition. Editor: Yes! This almost playful line quality gives way to an appreciation for the solid construction underneath! And although the colors are muted they really hold their own. Even now I can appreciate how a few of Diebenkorn's shapes here appear echoed or reflected elsewhere, heightening the sensation of some deep or layered process that transcends its own surface quality. Curator: Precisely! He challenges our gaze, creating movement. I often think about how later in his career, those flat planes opened to expansive California landscapes. This work seems a seed, of sorts, of that direction. Editor: Looking closely, what I first took for randomness reveals intention and a surprising organization of what appears unstructured: these shades aren’t applied evenly but in varying opacities allowing the subtle presence of each previous choice to influence what’s laid upon it. Curator: I think, what remains for me, even beyond analysis, is the sustained visual intrigue. Its subtle palette, that dance of line and form that leaves me questioning—like a half-remembered dream. Editor: A really great experience. I find new things with every viewing!