Untitled [profile of a female figure in a dark setting] [verso] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this image, Untitled [profile of a female figure in a dark setting], with a brush and ink on paper. The approach to mark-making here feels exploratory, like a process of building up form through layers of dark washes. Looking at the texture, it's all about the fluidity of the ink, the way it bleeds and pools on the paper. You can almost feel the wetness of the medium, the way it resists control. There's a real push and pull between the figure and the ground, and it dissolves into pure abstraction. Take a look at the lower left corner, you can see the ghost of a signature emerging from the shadows. This reminds me of some of Philip Guston's later work, where he embraced a similar kind of rough-and-ready figuration. Ultimately, the power of this piece lies in its ambiguity. It invites us to slow down, to look closely, and to find our own meaning in the interplay of light and shadow.