Untitled [seated nude with her left arm on the seat back] 1955 - 1967

Curator: Here we have an untitled drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, likely made between 1955 and 1967. It features a seated nude, rendered in pencil and ink. Editor: It's stark. The lines are so raw and immediate, you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the page. It’s a very material drawing, almost aggressively so. Curator: Indeed, it's part of a larger exploration Diebenkorn engaged in, revisiting figuration after his initial foray into Abstract Expressionism. This reflects a broader cultural shift of artists re-engaging with representation. Editor: The rough texture of the paper is almost as important as the figure. There is a directness about it; you can feel the pressure of the pencil. It really highlights the labor involved in creating an image. It rejects the preciousness often associated with ‘fine art’. Curator: That rawness is key to its impact. He avoids idealization, showing a real body, existing within a defined space. It engages with the public's changing view on the nude and its representation during the mid-20th century. Editor: You can see where the pencil was sharpened, where the artist layered the graphite to achieve darker values, and it even seems like erasures. It invites the viewer to consider process over the illusion of perfect form, even though we are still in the tradition of portraiture. Curator: Precisely, Diebenkorn straddles these shifting traditions, offering a powerful study that simultaneously rejects and respects classical artistic tropes within the contemporary social landscape. Editor: Thinking about how art is produced rather than merely what it represents can change how we value it and where it finds a place in the wider world. Curator: I think understanding the evolution of subject matter and the socio-historical environment refines and contextualizes our experience with a piece. Editor: Yes, in considering both material and context, we find a fuller understanding.