Synopses & Reviews
Richard Diebenkorn, who died in 1993, is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential American artists of the twentieth century. The luminous abstractions of his later career and the innovative figurative works of his middle years firmly established him as a master in the high tradition of modernism.
This revised and expanded edition of the first comprehensive monograph on the artist presents a rich selection of the artist's oeuvre. Until the mid-1950s, he painted in the abstract expressionist tradition (synthesizing, as he has since, such disparate influences as de Kooning, Gorky, Hopper, and Cézanne) before turning (unfashionably) to figurative painting along with artists David Park and Elmer Bischoff. He then embarked on the series of large abstract paintings for which he is best known--each titled Ocean Park after the beachside community where he worked. Reminiscent of Matisse in color and Mondrian in geometry, these are some of the most remarkable accomplishments of twentieth-century art. The updated section of this edition follows Diebenkorn's career from the mid-1980s until his death, focusing particularly on his adventurous late works on paper. In each "phase" of his career, Diebenkorn explored the intricate interplay between formal rigor and luminous, sensual color with the same masterful hand.
Along with several hundred reproductions of the artist's work, critic Gerald Nordland provides a thoughtful and informative study of Diebenkorn's life and career, an updated, comprehensive exhibition history, and a selected bibliography.
Synopsis
Richard Diebenkorn: Revised and Expanded by Gerald Nordland is a detailed look at the artwork and life of the acclaimed American artist Richard Diebenkorn.
This book captures the modernist works of Diebenkorn, who passed away in 1993. It includes sections on the artist's prints, his last years, and his influence on contemporary art. Richard Diebenkorn: Revised and Expanded is the ultimate source for art enthusiasts and academics who want an authoritative look at Diebenkorn's career as one of the leading modern artists of the twentieth century.
Author Gerald Nordland is an award-winning art historian, critic, independent curator, author, and educator who currently lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is a leading Diebenkorn scholar and a founder of the California Institute of the Arts.
About the Author
Gerald Nordland is an art critic and former museum administrator whose work has appeared in many national and international publications. A contributor to
Richard Diebenkorn: Paintings and Drawings, 1943-1980, he is also the author of
Gaston Lachaise: The Man and his Work. As a museum administrator, he has held positions at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery at the University of California in Los Angeles. He has been a commentator on the life and art of Richard Diebenkorn for almost 40 years.