Untitled [seated female nude in a wicker chair] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this charcoal drawing of a seated nude, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. Look at how the charcoal is applied, sometimes smudged, sometimes a confident line – it's all about process here, the push and pull of seeing and marking. The texture is key. See the way the charcoal sits on the paper, sometimes thick and velvety, sometimes just a whisper? And that contrast between the dark, solid lines defining the figure and the softer, smudged areas that suggest shadow and volume. There's a real physicality to it, like Diebenkorn was wrestling with the form, trying to pin it down but also letting it breathe. Take the right leg, for example. It dissolves into the chair, solid yet ambiguous. This approach reminds me of Willem de Kooning, the way he used line and tone to suggest form without ever quite resolving it. Ultimately, it's about the conversation between artists across time, each grappling with similar problems, each finding their own way to see.