Untitled [seated couple] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this charcoal drawing of a seated couple on paper, date unknown. What strikes me first is the confident line, how it defines the figures without getting bogged down in detail. It's all about gesture, about capturing the essence of a pose. Look at the weight of the charcoal, how it varies from thick, dark strokes to light, almost broken lines. It's as if Diebenkorn is thinking through the drawing, adjusting his lines as he goes. The negative space is just as important, the figures emerge from the ground of the paper, not quite finished, but full of potential. The mark-making feels very direct. There’s a raw quality that puts me in mind of some of Matisse's line drawings. Diebenkorn's drawing feels like a conversation, a visual dialogue between the artist, his materials, and the subject. It reminds us that art is never really finished. It's an ongoing process of exploration and discovery.