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Richard Diebenkorn was a "painter's painter." Born in 1922 when modern
art was still in its youth, Diebenkorn knew since his own earliest days
that he would be an artist. Throughout his prolific career, Diebenkorn
explores the opposing worlds of abstraction and figurative painting. Not
only does he work in both modes, but his efforts in one mode always inform
the other. Whether he was busy in the world of abstraction or the world of
representation, Diebenkorn's unswerving intention is directed toward
wholeness and visual harmony.
Diebenkorn began his formal education
at Stanford University, and his early artistic influences include Cezanne,
Edward Hopper, and Matisse. One early work, Palo Alto Circle
(1943), is extremely Hopperesque in its subject matter and handling: a
hotel facade rendered in a strong sunlight. This
composition of various
rectangular and linear elements foreshadows his mature, more abstract
work. Diebenkorn's early delvings into abstraction include his Berkely
series began in 1953. These paintings depict loose, organic imagery which
is sometimes derived from the figure, but mostly evolves from the artist's
highly intuitive style. Formal relationships of the fundamental elements
of design -- line, shape, value, color, texture -- are the mainstay of his
paintings at this time. One can, however, sense the tension between the
figurative and the non-objective. In The Archer (1953) the overt imagery
of the archer with a drawn bow is tempered by the active, painterly
surface. The visual tension in the lines of the bow and string are as real
as the physical tension in the objects that they represent.
The
surface of Diebenkorn's paintings tells the viewer much about the manner
in which he works. This is true of all of his work. The multi-layered,
built-up quality of the surface reveals many revisions and corrections.
This is evidence of an active feedback between artist and canvas. Some
critics view this aspect of Diebenkorn's work negatively and accuse him of
uncertainty and imprecision. On the contrary, "getting it right" is
Diebenkorn's chief objective and he does not mind revising things to
realize a composition where everything is essential -- nothing is left
out.
In the mid-50's, about 20 months into his Berkely series,
Diebenkorn began to sense an "emptiness" in the abstracts that, to him,
came all too easily. As a result, he started a series of still life
paintings that looked something like exercises in art school --
straightforward, objective studies of scissors, cups, books, and other
everyday items. Though representational in imagery, these paintings retain
the painterly surface and attention to design that is characteristic of
his earlier abstract expressionism. Then, the figure
appears.
Injecting the figure into his work, Diebenkorn attains the
human element that rejuvenates his creative spirit. In Woman in a Window
(1957), the artist unifies geometry and contemplation through the image of
a woman gazing out of a window. The woman -- posed with head in hand,
slightly hunched, and leaning on a table -- appears to be deep in thought,
perhaps daydreaming. The figure and ground are handled in simple, flat
shapes. Vivid blues and reds in the figure and the window glow against a
muted ochre wall. Diebenkorn's use of simple shapes runs parallel to his
objective of universal expression. Details are eliminated in favor of a
unified whole. This painting recalls the classical theme expressed in
Durer's Melancholia I where a figure in contemplation is surrounded
by geometric elements.
In 1967, Diebenkorn's creative pendulum
swings back toward abstraction in the Ocean Park series. This extensive
series was begun when the artist was living in Santa Monica, California.
Although the series is strictly non-objective, strong elements of
landscape evoke the bright, open feel of the California coastline. The
entire series consists of variations in surface division. The horizontal
and vertical lines, and the dynamic intervals of spaces are somewhat
related to Mondrian's neo-plasticism. In Ocean Park No. 96 (1977, Fig. 4),
Diebenkorn arranges blocks of muted yellow, pale blue, and bright orange
into an open structure which refers loosely to a beach scene with a sunset
and tall cliffs. Several diagonals activate the space. Diebenkorn uses a
transluscent, layered wash to deepen the surface interest. Along with his
handling of paint, Diebenkorn continues the spatial ambiguity seen
throughout his work. Cool blues and plunging diagonals induce a spatial
recession, yet the gestural painting emphasizes the surface. This
simultaneous creation and destruction of space creates a strong visual
tension.
In summary, Richard Diebenkorn is a master visual
synthesizer who worked primarily on two levels: formal, abstract
relationships, and the emotional level of visual experience. Unconcerned
with trends and the opinions of his contemporaries, Diebenkorn pursued his
goal of making unified pictures with few preconceived notions. He
cultivated a broad base of studio skills and art history knowledge, but
when brush met canvas, he always chose the intuitive over the
intellectual. Diebenkorn also had an amazing capacity of self criticism
and clearmindedness in assessing his work. Ironically, he thought himself
a tradition painter who was simply expanding tradition. However, as
gallery director Robert Buck, Jr. puts it, "His ability to resolve his
talents ... in directions at once so diverse and yet related makes him a
unique and altogether unparalleled figure in contemporary
art."
Gregory Eanes
April 7, 1993
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