Untitled [standing nude leaning on her supported elbow] 1955 - 1967

Editor: Here we have an untitled pencil drawing from between 1955 and 1967 by Richard Diebenkorn. It depicts a standing nude figure, leaning on one elbow. There's a real sense of vulnerability to the pose, wouldn’t you say? What stands out to you most when you look at this piece? Curator: It's true, there's a delicate balance between vulnerability and strength in her stance. Diebenkorn often played with these opposing forces. I see a dance between line and form, where the pencil strokes almost seem to search for the subject, rather than define her rigidly. Notice how the density of the shading suggests the weight and volume of the body, while the surrounding lines almost vibrate with an unresolved energy. Do you find that tension compelling, or perhaps unsettling? Editor: I find it really compelling. It’s like he’s capturing a fleeting moment, an impermanence. Almost like the figure is about to shift. Curator: Precisely! It’s less about capturing a perfect likeness and more about conveying a sense of lived experience. I wonder if the figure herself felt this precariousness in the studio. These glimpses, these impressions are the beautiful accidents and little stories locked inside the work. The image whispers a sense of yearning, doesn't it? Editor: It definitely does. Before this, I only thought of Diebenkorn in relation to the Ocean Park series, it’s insightful to consider the figure drawings as groundwork. Curator: Exactly. Exploring Diebenkorn's figuration is critical. Think of these early explorations like practice, which later inform his abstraction and bold colors of Ocean Park, the nudes acting as vital precursors. So much about feeling the weight of presence in space carries through his bodies of work. What do you take away now? Editor: I see it now - It makes you consider what is hidden, even within abstraction, there’s feeling. Curator: I couldn't have said it better. The feeling *is* there! It resonates beneath the surface. The hum of presence and of lived history makes us engage and dream.