Untitled [seated female nude resting right arm on knee] 1955 - 1967

Editor: This is an ink drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, made sometime between 1955 and 1967, titled *Untitled [seated female nude resting right arm on knee]*. The woman's gaze is striking, almost confrontational. What’s your take on it? Curator: There’s a raw vulnerability, isn’t there? Diebenkorn's use of ink feels immediate, like a fleeting thought captured on paper. It's interesting how the seemingly simple lines carry such weight. It makes me wonder, what does the lack of embellishment say about how we look at, and maybe even judge, the female form? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that. It definitely strips away any idealization. Are you seeing any connection to Abstract Expressionism in here, even though it’s clearly representational? Curator: Absolutely. It's not about precise realism, but the emotional impact, the gestural quality. Notice how the thick lines vary in pressure. It’s almost like he's carving her form out of the void. Think of Kline, maybe Motherwell... that urgency of mark-making. This could almost be a Cy Twombly, a poetic shorthand to say the most with seemingly the least. Editor: That makes sense. The way the ink bleeds slightly around the edges too adds a sense of movement and imperfection. Curator: Precisely. Imperfection is at the heart of our humanness. Editor: So much to unpack with a few confident lines! Curator: Isn't that the joy of drawing, its unmediated clarity? And, by the way, who decided she was resting her right arm on her knee anyway? It's only a detail of a suggestion of a body; perhaps, we can invent it entirely. Editor: Good point! This has definitely broadened my perspective on the piece.