Untitled [standing male and seated female nudes] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this ink drawing of two nudes on paper sometime during his career. The lines are so direct and economical, like a single breath capturing both figures. There’s a real confidence in the line work, a kind of raw honesty. You can almost feel Diebenkorn deciding where to put each line, each mark, feeling his way around the forms. Notice the woman’s face, so simply rendered, yet so expressive. And then there's the man's arm, raised as though interrupted mid-motion, with the suggestion of shadow at his elbow. It reminds me of Matisse, but with a distinctly American, West Coast vibe. Diebenkorn's work is like a conversation, each piece talking to the last, always exploring, never settling. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about answers, it’s about the questions.