richard diebenkorn may be best known for his ocean park paintings and drawings…
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | ocean park #140 | oil on canvas | 1985
the last large scale painting in the ocean park cycle
deibenkorn created the ocean park cycle in santa monica, CA from 1967-1988
photo credit art in the studio
or, for his cityscapes…
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | cityscape, landscape 1 | oil on canvas | 1963
san francisco museum of modern art (sfmoma) | san francisco, CA
photo credit famsf | (c) 2013 the richard diebenkorn foundation
along with joan mitchell and helen frankenthaler, richard diebenkorn is one of my favorite post-war american artists.
so, of course we attended the preview of richard diebenkorn: the berkeley years-1953-1966, an exhibition of over 130 works that opened at the de young museum in san francisco, CA on 22 june 2013. my husband, bob, and i enjoyed the exhibition so much that we are going back to see it again before it closes on 29 september 2013.
diebenkorn’s work is often grouped into periods according to where he lived because his location often inspired his work. diebenkorn lived in berkeley, CA from 1953 until 1966, when he moved to santa monica, CA. although diebenkorn’s berkeley period paintings and drawings established him as an abstract artist, his berkeley period actually included two phases: an abstract phase from 1953-1956, followed by a representational phase from 1955-1967.
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #3 | oil on canvas | 1953
fine art museums of san francisco (famsf) | san francisco, CA
photo credit famsf | (c) 2013 the richard diebenkorn foundation
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #5 | oil on canvas | 1953
private collection
photo credit christie’s
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #7 | oil on canvas | 1953
mildred lane kemper art museum | washington university | st louis, MO
photo credit kemper art museum
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #8 | oil on canvas | 1954
north carolina museum of art (ncma) | raleigh, NC
photo credit ncma
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #12 | oil on canvas | 1954
the phillips collection | washington, DC
photo credit the phillips collection
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #15 | oil on canvas | 1954
new mexico museum of art | santa fe, NM
photo credit new mexico museum of art
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #19 | oil on canvas | 1954
university of arizona museum of art (uama) | tuscon, AZ
photo credit uama
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #22 | oil on canvas | 1954
hirshorn museum and sculpture garden | smithsonian institution | washington, DC
photo credit hirshorn museum and sculpture garden
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #33 | oil on canvas | 1954
private collection
photo credit wikipaintings
‘what i was really up to in painting,
what i enjoyed exclusively, was altering-
changing what was before me-
by way of subtracting
or juxtaposition
or superimposition
of different ideas.’
-richard diebenkorn
diebenkorn composed berkeley #23 in 1954, and then reworked it in 1955.
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #23 | oil on canvas | 1955
san francisco museum of modern art (sfmoma) | san francisco, CA
photo credit sfmoma | (c) richard diebenkorn foundation
in 1957, articles in ARTnews* and LIFE magazines expanded diebenkorn’s national reputation as an abstract artist.
‘look of the west inspires new art’ | LIFE magazine | november 4, 1957 | page 67
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | berkeley #44 | oil on canvas | 1955
private collection
photo credits google books and famsf | (c) 2013 the richard diebenkorn foundation
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | chabot valley | oil on canvas | 1955
collection of christopher diebenkorn
photo credit wikipaintings
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | coffee | oil on canvas | 1959
san francisco museum of modern art (sfmoma) | san francisco, CA
photo credit sfmoma | (c) richard diebenkorn foundation
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | bottles | oil on canvas | 1960
norton simon museum | pasadena, CA
photo credit norton simon museum | (c) 2008 estate of richard diebenkorn
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | interior with doorway | oil on canvas | 1962
pennsylvania academy of the fine arts (pafa) | philadelphia, PA
photo credit pafa
interior with view of buildings combines the four major themes of diebenkorn’s berkeley period representational work: landscapes, figures, still life, and interiors.
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | interior with view of buildings | oil on canvas | 1962
cincinnati art museum | cincinnati, OH
photo credit cincinnati art museum
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | recollections of a visit to leningrad | oil on canvas | 1965
private collection
photo credit famsf | (c) 2013 the richard diebenkorn foundation
diebenkorn also saw the henri matisse. retrospective 1966. exhibition at the university of california, los angeles (ucla) art gallery.
henri matisse (1869-1954) | zulma | gouache and cut and pasted paper | 1950
statens museum for kunst (smk) | copenhagen, denmark
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | untitled (yellow collage) | gouache and cut and pasted paper | 1966
collection of gretchen and richard grant
photo credits smk | (c) succession h. matisse/billedkunst copydan 2012 and famsf | (c) 2013 the richard diebenkorn foundation
does diebenkorn’s late berkeley period work seem like a transition from representation to abstraction?
richard diebenkorn (1922-1993) | ocean park #19 | oil on canvas | 1968
san francisco museum of modern art (sfmoma) | san francisco, CA
photo credit sfmoma | (c) richard diebenkorn foundation
notes to myself on beginning a painting:
1. attempt what is not certain. certainty may or may not come later. it may then be a valuable delusion.
2. the pretty, initial position, which falls short of completeness, is not to be valued-except as a stimulus for further moves.
3. do search. but in order to find other than what is searched for.
4. use and respond to the initial fresh qualities, but consider them absolutely expendable.
5. don’t ‘discover’ a subject-of any kind.
6. somehow don’t be bored-but if you must, use it in action. use its destructive potential.
7. mistakes can’t be erased, but they move you from your present position.
8. keep thinking about polyanna.
9. tolerate chaos.
10. be careful only in a perverse way.
-richard diebenkorn