Untitled [standing female nude turning left] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this figure study with what looks like charcoal, and lots of confidence. Look at the sureness of the lines. I’m thinking about Diebenkorn at the easel, stepping back, squinting, his hand moving across the page with such fluency. It's like he's known this body forever, like it's a landscape he's walked through a million times. The marks are so economical, yet they manage to convey weight, volume, and a sense of the figure in space. And that smudged shadow along the side, adding depth and mystery with the simplest gesture. Diebenkorn was always in conversation with other artists, from Matisse to Motherwell, taking cues and then veering off in his own direction. You get the sense that all art making is a form of call and response across time and space. We find our own way by talking to each other, in real time, in art.