Untitled [a male and female nude seated on the floor] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this drawing of a male and female nude couple sitting on the floor with ink on paper. The heavy, dark lines seem to describe not only the contours of the figures but also the weight of their bodies. The paint is thin, so we get to see the surface of the paper, a kind of ground or place. Diebenkorn is really playing with the push and pull between flatness and depth, and the lines seem to be groping around the figures like they are exploring and mapping the space between them. The male figure’s gaze suggests thoughtfulness, even concern, and yet, the work feels unresolved. It reminds me of other figurative painters, like Alice Neel, who seemed less interested in achieving the perfect likeness and more invested in investigating the nuances of human feeling. I think of painting as an act of searching, a way to ask questions about what it means to be human, and I admire how Diebenkorn isn’t afraid to leave things open-ended. It's a great reminder that art is more about the journey than the destination.