Richard Diebenkorn
Overview
Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, 1984
"The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to be valued – except as a stimulus for further moves."
Diebenkorn's Ocean Park Series is one of the most celebrated bodies of work in 20th century American art. Over the course of twenty years and 145 paintings, the artist explored intricacies of form, space and colour through the language of abstraction. Full of painterly detail, erasures, scraping back and luscious washes of colour, they are a celebration of the southern California light; Matisse by way of Los Angeles.
Ocean Park was an almost derelict neighbourhood perched on the edge of the Pacific in Santa Monica. Cheap rents and the dazzling atmosphere made it a haven for artists. In Diebenkorn's hands the white buildings, parched boulevards, beating sun and verdant lawns of the city streets become almost musical compositions that defy objective reality but capture the area's essence. Diebenkorn worked laboriously on each painting, leaving the evidence of his corrections fully visible. They are organic, luminous works of pure joy.
Ocean Park was an almost derelict neighbourhood perched on the edge of the Pacific in Santa Monica. Cheap rents and the dazzling atmosphere made it a haven for artists. In Diebenkorn's hands the white buildings, parched boulevards, beating sun and verdant lawns of the city streets become almost musical compositions that defy objective reality but capture the area's essence. Diebenkorn worked laboriously on each painting, leaving the evidence of his corrections fully visible. They are organic, luminous works of pure joy.
Works
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