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Lot Essay
An important symbol of an artist’s masterful explorations into color and form, the figurative and the abstract, Richard Diebenkorn’s Interior with a View of White Buildings exemplifies the artist’s contributions to the evolution of Abstract Expressionism and his distinct perspective on the American landscape. Executed during a pivotal moment in Diebenkorn’s career, marked by a bold rendering of his early figurative style in a new compositional abstraction—a time which represents the genesis of the artist’s famed abstracted West Coast landscapes—the present work captures the artist’s innovative approach to color and form during his time in the San Francisco Bay Area. Interior with a View of White Buildings is wholly representative of Diebenkorn’s unique ability to blur the distinctions between abstraction and representation, juxtaposing his deft facility with compositional organization against radical experimentations with abstracted brushwork and bold interpretations of color.
The present work is teeming with complex layers of paint; close inspection reveals underlayers of green, violet and red, asserting the artist’s ability to employ color and texture with equal weight, engaging the canvas in a dynamic play of color and sumptuous layering. Atop these ground layers, Diebenkorn uses goldenrod tones and varying shades of blue to develop a contrasting setting in which a deep blue sky can cast a warm glow against an interior floor. The artist’s near-Impressionist use of palette is reminiscent of Matisse’s The Blue Window (1913), using color to animate the austere setting. Here, Diebenkorn paints an intimate room, fitted with a singular chair and an accompanying desk. Accents of turquoise, sky blue and ochre compliment the broader passages of white, gold and rust. Through the cropped windows of said space, Diebenkorn offers the viewer a brief glance outward toward a serene exterior landscape, employing brief passages of green and orange to decorate the expansive sky and subtle hints to geometric forms in the white buildings. The view of the buildings beyond the window is rendered with a sense of spatial depth and light that contrasts with the more abstracted and textured interior.
This juxtaposition of inside and outside, concrete and abstract, reflects Diebenkorn's ongoing exploration of spatial relationships and his commitment to capturing the essence of a familiar place to any audience through his art. Having spent his adult career in California, Diebenkorn is able to convey a unique West Coast feel through his work. Diebenkorn’s work of the 1960s is particularly notable for its transition from figurative to abstract forms. His approach in Interior with a View of White Buildings aligns with this period of experimentation and growth. The artist’s use of color in this piece is deliberate and evocative, utilizing soft hues to create a tranquil yet engaging atmosphere. In painting this quiet space, viewers are extended the opportunity to interpret Diebenkorn’s nuanced approach to physical space and presence. Contemplative, yet rich with texture, form and emotion, this work is wholly emulative of Diebenkorn’s expansive capabilities as an artist and draftsman.
The present work emerges from a significant period in Diebenkorn’s career, reflecting his transition from the more abstracted approaches of the early 1950s to the increasingly representational and spatial explorations of the 1960s. Diebenkorn's work, particularly in pieces like Interior with a View of White Buildings, is celebrated for its ability to merge abstract and figurative elements, creating a dialogue between the inner world of the artist and the external environment. This painting, with its exploration of space, color, and light, is a quintessential example of Diebenkorn’s innovative approach and his significant role in shaping the direction of modern American painting. The artist’s enduring legacy may be noted in the several esteemed institutions whose permanent collections contain examples by the artist, including The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Interior with a View of White Buildings shares thematic and stylistic elements with his other well-known series—the Ocean Park series and Cityscape series. While the Ocean Park series, which began in 1967, is celebrated for its large-scale, abstracted depictions of the Santa Monica landscape which Diebenkorn called home, Interior with a View of White Buildings demonstrates a similar fascination with the relationship between internal and external spaces sticking to his twist on a West Coast feel, albeit in a more intimate and less abstract form. Diebenkorn’s early explorations with geometric forms, for example, may be noted in the angular forms of the subject work. Diebenkorn’s exploration in Interior with a View of White Buildings reflects his broader artistic journey and his engagement with the visual and emotional dimensions of space. The painting captures a moment of transition and experimentation, illustrating the artist’s ability to blend the personal with the universal and to create a dialogue between abstraction and representation, pushing the boundaries of modern American painting.
The present work is teeming with complex layers of paint; close inspection reveals underlayers of green, violet and red, asserting the artist’s ability to employ color and texture with equal weight, engaging the canvas in a dynamic play of color and sumptuous layering. Atop these ground layers, Diebenkorn uses goldenrod tones and varying shades of blue to develop a contrasting setting in which a deep blue sky can cast a warm glow against an interior floor. The artist’s near-Impressionist use of palette is reminiscent of Matisse’s The Blue Window (1913), using color to animate the austere setting. Here, Diebenkorn paints an intimate room, fitted with a singular chair and an accompanying desk. Accents of turquoise, sky blue and ochre compliment the broader passages of white, gold and rust. Through the cropped windows of said space, Diebenkorn offers the viewer a brief glance outward toward a serene exterior landscape, employing brief passages of green and orange to decorate the expansive sky and subtle hints to geometric forms in the white buildings. The view of the buildings beyond the window is rendered with a sense of spatial depth and light that contrasts with the more abstracted and textured interior.
This juxtaposition of inside and outside, concrete and abstract, reflects Diebenkorn's ongoing exploration of spatial relationships and his commitment to capturing the essence of a familiar place to any audience through his art. Having spent his adult career in California, Diebenkorn is able to convey a unique West Coast feel through his work. Diebenkorn’s work of the 1960s is particularly notable for its transition from figurative to abstract forms. His approach in Interior with a View of White Buildings aligns with this period of experimentation and growth. The artist’s use of color in this piece is deliberate and evocative, utilizing soft hues to create a tranquil yet engaging atmosphere. In painting this quiet space, viewers are extended the opportunity to interpret Diebenkorn’s nuanced approach to physical space and presence. Contemplative, yet rich with texture, form and emotion, this work is wholly emulative of Diebenkorn’s expansive capabilities as an artist and draftsman.
The present work emerges from a significant period in Diebenkorn’s career, reflecting his transition from the more abstracted approaches of the early 1950s to the increasingly representational and spatial explorations of the 1960s. Diebenkorn's work, particularly in pieces like Interior with a View of White Buildings, is celebrated for its ability to merge abstract and figurative elements, creating a dialogue between the inner world of the artist and the external environment. This painting, with its exploration of space, color, and light, is a quintessential example of Diebenkorn’s innovative approach and his significant role in shaping the direction of modern American painting. The artist’s enduring legacy may be noted in the several esteemed institutions whose permanent collections contain examples by the artist, including The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
Interior with a View of White Buildings shares thematic and stylistic elements with his other well-known series—the Ocean Park series and Cityscape series. While the Ocean Park series, which began in 1967, is celebrated for its large-scale, abstracted depictions of the Santa Monica landscape which Diebenkorn called home, Interior with a View of White Buildings demonstrates a similar fascination with the relationship between internal and external spaces sticking to his twist on a West Coast feel, albeit in a more intimate and less abstract form. Diebenkorn’s early explorations with geometric forms, for example, may be noted in the angular forms of the subject work. Diebenkorn’s exploration in Interior with a View of White Buildings reflects his broader artistic journey and his engagement with the visual and emotional dimensions of space. The painting captures a moment of transition and experimentation, illustrating the artist’s ability to blend the personal with the universal and to create a dialogue between abstraction and representation, pushing the boundaries of modern American painting.