Untitled [Two Seated Figures] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn created this untitled image of two seated figures in ink, and I can really see the push and pull of darks and lights that defines Diebenkorn’s work. It's all about the process. The dark ink is really soaked into the paper in places, like around the edges of the image, and then scraped away in other spots. There’s a real tension between the solidity of the figures and the way they almost dissolve into the ground. I love the way the figures are built up from just a few simple lines, like the quick strokes that define their faces. The linear elements help hold the composition together, and bring a balance to the heavy blocks of shadow. This piece really reminds me of Matisse's drawings; both artists are able to distill figures down to their most essential forms. Ultimately, it's the ambiguity of the image that I find most compelling, the way it invites us to fill in the blanks and create our own narrative.