Apples, Bricks and Diebenkorn 

Daniel Greene painted this still life, titled *Apples, Bricks and Diebenkorn*, sometime during his career as a realist painter. Greene emerged as an artist during a period marked by significant social and political upheaval, including the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Here, the rustic texture of bricks is juxtaposed against the smooth skin of the apples, creating a tension between the natural and the constructed. The apples, symbols of temptation, knowledge, and mortality, sit precariously atop and alongside the bricks, objects commonly used to build walls. This prompts questions about the foundations we build in our lives and the choices we make. The inclusion of ‘Diebenkorn’ in the title, referencing the abstract expressionist painter Richard Diebenkorn, may signal a connection to California's art scene. The small picture hung on the wall in the background echoes Diebenkorn’s abstract style, placing Greene in conversation with his contemporaries. This work invites us to reflect on our own constructs, both physical and metaphorical, and the choices that shape our realities.