Product Description

Recognized as a major figure in postwar American painting, Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) was an artist strongly identified with California. Published to coincide with the first retrospective of Diebenkorn's work since his death, this catalog is the most comprehensive volume on the artist now available. 192 color illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162437 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.com Review
On the process of painting, American painter Richard Diebenkorn once wrote, "I want painting to be difficult to do. The more obstacles, obstructions, problems ... the better." In part, he meant that the freest artistic expression was often the result of some sort of restraint. Much like Shakespeare writing within the rigorous poetic form of the sonnet, Diebenkorn found his format in the vertical, rectangular, human-size canvases that he used to paint his famed Ocean Park series, which occupied a large portion of his magnificent career and included many figurative works. This sequence consists of more than 100 paintings created primarily over the course of the 1970s. There is a tranquil, mystical quality to his works: geometric lines define fields of color evoking the tones, landscape, atmosphere, and quality of light in Ocean Park. His paintings thus hover on the boundary between abstraction and landscape.

This paperback exhibition catalog of the retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City contains a beautifully produced plate section, arranged chronologically, that spans nearly the entire second half of the 20th century. A special highlight are Diebenkorn's notes to himself on beginning a painting.

From Library Journal
Inspired by the openness and light of the California landscape, the American painter Diebenkorn (1922-93) developed a unique modernist style, characterized by geometric forms, a bright palette, and thick brushwork. Once his career was established, he made a sudden shift to representational art. Still later, the figures disappeared, and he resumed the abstract mode marked by a series of paintings entitled "Ocean Park." This comprehensive catalog, which accompanies the first retrospective exhibition of Diebenkorn's works since his death, is intended to enhance understanding of his devotion to modernism and the influences upon his accomplishments. Livingston, who curated the exhibition, and two other notable art scholars (all acquaintances of the artist) provide lengthy essays complementing about 200 color plates. Recommended for all libraries that collect in American modern art.?Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Jane Livingston is an independent author and curator living in Rappahannock County, Virginia. John Elderfield is Chief Curator-at-Large at The Museum of Modern Art. Ruth Fine is Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery.

Customer Reviews

Viewing the diversity of this painting master was triumphant
Being a painter myself, Richard Diebenkorn has influenced my life and work. To see the freshness of the paintings in this book was magical to me. The Ocean Park series is the most accessable works or the most widely shown works by Diebenkorn. To see the horizontal development of the works throughout Diebenkorn's life in one volume is spectacular. The book is an asset to anyone interested in seeing what it takes to make a fine painter. The drawings, the still-life paintings of tomatos and a knife with their luscious quality and subtle sexual symbolism is pure genius. The slow and subtle transition from landscape painting to completely abstracted landscape of the Ocean Park series is extremely useful visual material. The book is worth it for the plates alone, however, the writing is thought provoking and insightful.

Modern Master
Richard Diebenkorn has finally achieved the status of Modern Master, but his success was only secured later in his life and after his death. Although he was at first an Abstract Expressionist artist who painted as convincingly as Still, Rothko, Kline and Motherwell, he was too much identified with the Bay Area, and therefore he did not have the imprimatur of the New York critics. Then, in the 1950s, he was viewed as having betrayed the New York Abstract Expressionists, when he turned to figurative painting with David Park and Elmer Bischoff. Eventually, until his death, he returned to abstraction with his much-acclaimed "Ocean Park" series. And then the critics finally realized what had eluded them for years: That Diebenkorn painted abstract realism, leaning more to one and then the other, all his life.

Jane Livingston does a fine job of portraying the life of Richard Diebenkorn through his stunning paintings, which exemplify fire beneath the calm. Be sure to read the Norland book as well, since his book is still the seminal book on Diebenkorn.

Great painter, Great book
After reading a few of the other reviews I felt like throwing my 2 cents worth. First of all, I am amazed and love the fact that Diebenkorn has recieved so much press. Its a shame he was shunned from the New York art world when he was alive.(Although, I don't think he was terribly upset by this) I didn't even hear of him untill I went to England to do my M.A.! I bought my first book of his then in 94'. I think its whitechaple press. In any case, this book is much more complete with great- great photos and essays. It is pure joy. The biggest problem I have with the book is trying to keep it out of my studio, so as not to get paint on it. If you happen to go to the San Francisco MOMA check out their nice collection of his work!