Dear Sophie -
Somewhere between drawing and painting lives CY TWOMBLY's lyrical marks. Sometimes his canvases have the innocence of a large blackboard, or graffiti, only hinting at the vast cultural knowledge that informed him.
His place in history forms a bridge between ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (think POLLACK) and the NEW YORK SCHOOL (the name of the group that included RAUSCHENBERG) to BASQUIAT (coming soon!) who would follow. He left New York as a young man and made his life in Italy.The delicate power of his works prevailed despite decades of criticism.
Quoted from his NY TImes Obituary:
“It’s more like I’m having an experience than making a picture.” The process stood in stark contrast to the detached, effete image that often clung to Mr. Twombly. After completing a work, in a kind of ecstatic state, it was as if the painting existed and he barely did anymore: “I usually have to go to bed for a couple of days.”
With love,
Mom
