Folsom Street Variations II (Gray) 1986

Richard Diebenkorn made this print, titled "Folsom Street Variations II (Gray)," using etching and aquatint, techniques that allow for subtle tonal gradations. Diebenkorn worked in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-20th century. His abstract style emerged from the local context of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, which, in contrast to the New York School's pure abstraction, retained a commitment to recognizable subjects and a connection to lived experience. You may find it interesting that he lived on Folsom Street. The city's urban landscape, its geometry and light, inspired him. Diebenkorn's work straddles the line between abstraction and representation, inviting us to consider how everyday spaces can be distilled into formal arrangements of line and tone. By studying Diebenkorn's life, his social circles, and exhibition history, we can better understand his artistic choices and their relationship to the broader cultural landscape of the time. Art history helps us see that art doesn't exist in a vacuum.