Etchings and Drypoints 1949-1980

When the etchings and drypoints of Richard Diebenkorn were assembled in 1979 for their first definite exhibition at the University Art Museum in Santa Barbara, more than half the prints were being exhibited for the first time. This book shows these prints, in addition to a group of 8 color etchings made in 1980. Deibenkorn's prints, more immediate and more intimate than the paintings, furnish a chronological commentary on the painted work. Seen here as a group, Diebenkorn's prints give us unexpected insight the artist frequently reinterprets subjects he developed in other media. In some ways the resonance of these prints seems less elusive and more uncompromising than that of the paintings. While clearly related to his other work, the intaglios stand on their own as eloquent works of art. According to the artist, intaglio is for him 'an exciting process involving precision, direct physical engagement, and the element of surprise.' These intaglios reflect decisions made within three periods of the artists career - the abstract expressionism of the late 40s and 50s; his shift between 1955-1966 to a qualified use of representation within the Bay Area figurative tradition; and in 1967 the movement away from the constraints of representation to an interest in more formal, non-figurative composition. The power of the artist's work lies in its execution and in its expression of his accumulated experience. As his insights grew, his solutions kept place.