Untitled [kneeling female nude with her right hand on her hip] 1955 - 1967

Editor: Here we have Richard Diebenkorn’s "Untitled [kneeling female nude with her right hand on her hip]", a pencil drawing from between 1955 and 1967. The figure, sketched with vigorous lines, is powerful, but something about the facelessness also feels vulnerable. What do you see in this piece? Curator: This drawing sits at the intersection of postwar figuration and abstract expressionism, and understanding the societal context is key. Think about the era - the evolving roles of women, the male gaze in art history... How does Diebenkorn’s faceless figure challenge or perpetuate those dynamics? Is the anonymity empowering or objectifying? Editor: I see your point. I guess I hadn’t considered how the abstraction of her face plays into that history. It both conceals her identity and maybe makes her more of a universal "woman." Curator: Exactly! The artist's gestural lines, while seemingly spontaneous, also evoke a sense of confinement and interiority, but who has that power here? The figure? The artist? And what does it say that this work, like many nudes, probably has not involved the agency of the model herself? The absence becomes a space for projection, doesn't it? It demands we question whose story we're actually seeing. Editor: It really does. Looking at it now, I’m struck by how much my own assumptions shaped my initial response. Curator: And that’s precisely the point. Art becomes a catalyst, a space to unpack our own biases and understand how historical power structures continue to resonate today. It is about challenging the narratives we consume so unthinkingly! Editor: Absolutely. This drawing now seems far more complex and less simply 'beautiful' than I first thought! Thanks for that.