Untitled [woman sitting on knees with hands behind head] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink drawing of a woman sitting on her knees sometime in the mid-20th century, and the process feels direct, almost impulsive. The watery ink washes across the page, creating a sense of depth and shadow with a limited palette. Look at how he's used the white of the paper to define the figure's form, letting it breathe amidst the dark tones. See how the ink pools and bleeds around the figure's head and shoulders, creating these abstract shapes that almost overwhelm the form itself. I love the energy in the lines, confident and free, yet still carefully observed. There’s a tension here, between representation and abstraction, that reminds me of his contemporary, Willem de Kooning. It’s like Diebenkorn is asking, how little can I say and still capture the essence of a human presence? For me, it’s in that tension that the real magic happens.