Untitled [head of a woman in eyeglasses] [recto] 1955 - 1967

Curator: Taking a look at this untitled portrait drawing from Richard Diebenkorn, made sometime between 1955 and 1967... immediately strikes me with its sense of intimacy. Editor: Yes, the gaze is downcast, almost melancholic. The heavy lines create a feeling of weight, don't they? Curator: Absolutely, there’s a certain sadness, but also a kind of focused introspection. The sketchy lines—they feel very immediate, very vulnerable. It’s like he's capturing a fleeting moment of inner thought. You know, he worked with this combination of representation and abstraction… how those dark masses of hair frame the face, and then that almost scribbled rendering of the features... it's fascinating! Editor: I’m struck by the eyeglasses. They create this geometric framework, but it also hides so much. What is normally such an important aspect of portraiture – the eyes themselves – is obscured. A fascinating technique to create visual, and metaphorical, distance. Curator: Exactly! It introduces a layer of complexity. Makes you think, doesn’t it? What are they seeing, or not seeing? Maybe he’s playing with ideas of identity—hiding while also revealing. I bet his shift towards figuration wasn't accidental, but intentional—wanting to portray raw and intense feelings. It certainly brings this intensity. Editor: Indeed. He reduces the figure to line and shape, yet paradoxically, the emotion feels amplified. Look how the starkness and simplicity of the medium draw us closer. A lot is said in few strokes of the hand. Curator: A testament, truly, to Diebenkorn's artistry. This drawing… It resonates with a raw, honest expression. So simple, yet it leaves you pondering long after you’ve turned away. Editor: Indeed, and I am keen to appreciate such effective expressionism in just a few charcoal lines. The drawing truly captures a moment of profound reflection.