Significant and influential Artist Richard Diebenkorn will have his art returned to its roots in an exhibit that comprises much of his work from his Berkeley period.

The exhibition, Richard Diebenkorn: The Berekeley Years,1953-1966, explores in depth the work produced by Diebenkorn when he lived in Berkeley, California. The presentation will include over 130 of the artist’s paintings and drawings assembled from collections across the country, many of them rarely or never before seen in public exhibitions. Diebenkorn’s engagement with the unique settings of the Bay Area, along with his personal history, ties this exhibition deeply to the region.

This exhibition is the first to focus specifically on this fertile period for the artist, a time of great metamorphosis for Diebenkorn.  The Berkeley period included an abstract phase (1953–1956) and a figurative phase (ca. 1955–1967) that included landscapes, figures, interiors, and still lifes.

Diebenkorn was profoundly influenced by the nature and culture of the Bay Area, and many of the works on display are saturated with light and atmosphere, as well as the deep reds, greens, and yellows of the region. Growing up in San Francisco’s Ingleside Terraces neighborhood, Diebenkorn was influenced by the Bay Area’s natural environment as can be seen in his early abstract pieces.

Diebenkorn has a history with art in San Francisco and the Bay Area. He attened Stanford University and UC Berkeley, and was both an student and an instructor at the California School of Fine Arts (today the San Francisco Art Institute). Additionally,  Diebenkorn’s very first solo museum exhibition was held at the Legion of Honor in 1948, and Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years, 1953-1966 continues the Fine Arts Museums’ long engagement with the artist’s work.

For more information about the exhibition and to learn about lectures, visit the exhibition website.

The exhibition opened on June 22, 2013 and runs through September 29, 2013.

de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwarea Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, California
Phone: 415.750.3600
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 9:30 am–5:15 pm; Friday (March 29-November 29, 2013) 9:30 am-8:45 pm; closed on Monday
Admission: Tuesday–Friday: $20 adults; $17 seniors; $16 college students with ID; $10 youths 6–17.
Saturday–Sunday: $22 adults; $19 seniors; $18 college students with ID; $12 youths 6–17.
These prices include general admission. Members and children 5 and under are free. General admission is free the first Tuesday of every month.
Information: www.deyoung.famsf.org