OCMA delays ‘Diebenkorn’

“Richard Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series, 1967-1985,” a highly anticipated exhibition at the Orange County Museum of Art, has been postponed for six months. Originally scheduled to open Oct. 11, 2009, as the museum’s fall headliner, the show will be launched April 4, 2010, OCMA Director Dennis Szakacs said.

The primary reason for the schedule change is financial, a museum representative said. The museum’s leaders decided that it would be imprudent to present two particularly expensive exhibitions -- “Illumination: The Paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin and Florence Pierce” and the Diebenkorn show -- in one year. “Illumination” will appear May 3 to Sept. 13 as planned. The fall slot formerly assigned to “Diebenkorn” will be filled by a less costly show, yet to be confirmed.

-- Suzanne Muchnic