Touched Red (working proof 2) 1991

Richard Diebenkorn made this working proof, ‘Touched Red’ with etching and drypoint. The image unfolds through a language of marks, a kind of call and response between the artist and the plate. There's a beautiful ambivalence in the surface of the image - it’s both spare and dense. The broad vertical strokes imply an erasure, while the linear elements create a sense of depth, and of something architectural. Look at the top left corner; you can see how the looping lines create an almost ornamental flourish, like a decorative detail on a building. That area seems to act like a hinge, connecting the composition to something beyond its own frame. Diebenkorn reminds me a bit of Giorgio Morandi, in that he takes a few simple forms and reconfigures them endlessly, each time arriving at a new sense of space and light. Ultimately, art is a conversation, and this piece invites us to join in, to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the table.