Richard Diebenkorn Exhibitions

U.S. Representation: International Exhibition of Painters under 35

U.S. Representation: International Exhibition of Painters under 35

  • Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, 15 April 1955 - 20 May 1955
  • Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 6 June 1955 - 6 July 1955
  • Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 12 October 1955 - 12 November 1955
Organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and circulated by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, Washington, D.C.

The exhibition was first titled Giovani pittori, while on view in Italy. It was later titled Jeunes peintres in Belgium and France.

"Three of his paintings—Berkeley #8, Berkeley #20 (cat. 1344), Berkeley #22 (cat. 1346)—appear in 'U.S. Representation: International Exhibition of Painters under 35' at the Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna in Rome. The show, organized by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, circulates to Brussels and Paris. Dore Ashton writes in Arts Digest,

'What these artists are really hoping to celebrate in their paintings is the understanding of deep feelings of mystery, wonder, and even despair. Sometimes these feelings are directly related to exterior phenomena, which I think is the case with Richard Diebenkorn of California, who would be my choice for a prize. (Painters in Rome who have seen the show were much attracted by Diebenkorn’s work.)'

In a letter to Ellie Poindexter that year, writes, 'The works in Rome are some of my best.'" —Chronology from Richard Diebenkorn: The Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. 1 (Yale University Press, 2016)

“His experience with the desert is so much present in the large, vague canvases spreading into space; dusky and heated as the desert. These unbeautiful but moving expressions seemed to have been spawned with great difficulty but their authenticity is undeniable.” —Dore Ashton for ARTS Digest (1955)
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