Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993). Untitled, 1971. Ink and graphite on paper. 24-1/4 x 17-3/4 inches (61.6 x 45.1 cm) (shee...

Description

Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993)
Untitled, 1971
Ink and graphite on paper
24-1/4 x 17-3/4 inches (61.6 x 45.1 cm) (sheet)
Initialed and dated lower left: RD 71

PROVENANCE:
Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York;
Edward M. Benesch, acquired from the above, 1971;
Jack Glenn Gallery, Corona del Mar, California, 1972;
Allan Stone Gallery, New York, 1972;
Michael and Dorothy Blankfort, Los Angeles, California, 1976;
Joyce Treiman, Los Angeles, California;
Adler Gallery, Los Angeles, California;
James Goodman Gallery, New York, 1980;
Private collection, acquired from the above, 1980;
James Goodman Gallery, New York, 1998;
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1998.

EXHIBITED:
Marlborough Gallery, New York, "Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series; Recent Work," December 4-31, 1971, no. 24, illustrated in the catalogue, p. 41;
Vivian Horan Fine Art, New York, "Pitched Black," November 5-December 19, 1992.

LITERATURE:
J. Livingston & A. Liguori (eds.), Richard Diebenkorn: The Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. 4, Yale University Press, 2016, no. 4068, p. 127, illustrated.

Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) had a very prolific career spanning over forty-five years and producing a vast number of artworks. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth we are pleased to offer this fantastic Untitled, an ink and graphite on paper made in 1971.

The artist's career can be divided into three clear phases. At first, he established his reputation in the 1940s as an abstract painter known as the Albuquerque period. Inspired by the American Expressionists and avant-garde, he often represented subtle abstract landscapes from an aerial perspective, adopting a calligraphic style with a richer, more vivid palette.

In the mid-1950s Diebenkorn started his second art period and moved to figuration, as the freedom of abstraction was becoming a restraint and he felt the urge to start drawing and painting "an art that was more contemplative." He greatly increased his audience during this period thanks to his large figurative and landscape paintings characterized by flat and planar areas of color. Finally, in 1966 he returned to abstract art, still close to the natural environment that surrounded him, but with an extra layer of mystery and further from reality.

The present work was executed during this final artistic phase, which the artist continued developing until 1988. After accepting a teaching position at UCLA, he moved to the Ocean Park area of Santa Monica. Many of the works he executed during this time were named after this neighborhood. First exhibited in 1971 at the Marlborough Gallery in New York, they soon became the most appreciated style of the artist. Typically, he would use a palette of soft blues, greens and yellows, as if they were reflecting the sunset light and the mist of the ocean.

Diebenkorn's creative process focused on precision. He used to stare at his canvasses for hours before drawing lines. Everything he communicated while painting would be retouched until it expressed exactly what he wanted it to say. Every line is in fact crucial: it sustains the painting by forming the right areas, especially in the Ocean Park series. Untitled was made using ink, which allows a more secure execution compared to drawings. However, the lines are repeated and superimposed, showing the continuous process of indecision and emendation that also characterized the strength and essence of Diebenkorn's rich works.

Considering this artistic process, it becomes clear how much his lifestyle and continuous change of scenery were inseparable: delicate but archetypal works are a manifestation of a contemplative lifestyle, where light, colors and lines were integrated to create his oeuvre.

When we look at Richard Diebenkorn's art we can recognize the influence of a number of artists, among them Matisse, Rothko and Thiebaud. But the clearest analogy, especially in the Ocean Park artworks, is with the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. As the member of the De Stijl group, Diebenkorn not only moved from a more figurative art style to abstract, but also used geometrical grids of colors and plates as Piet did in many compositions with red, blue, black, and yellow.

In this off-white work on paper, we see a clear division of the space, with a stronger horizontal line at the edge of the paper, as to delineate and suggest a horizon. The linear framework of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, drawn straight with a ruler, creates a geometrical composition that connects the whole concept together. Some erasures are still visible, but kept subtle as on the top right corner, becoming an indivisible part of the arrangement. The fields of this drawing are also slightly blurred, forming a great number of grey hues with the graphite that subtly references to different shades, saturation and depth. This almost suggests that Diebenkorn may have already had a clear idea of the color he wanted to use in a similar grid on a larger canvas.

The importance of Richard Diebenkorn's works in art history is proved by the numerous and distinguished exhibitions dedicated to him and by his presence in the foremost museums, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Tate Modern.


More information about Richard Diebenkorn. See also: Diebenkorn, Richard Artist.

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