12.09.2010

Artist's Profile: Cy Twombly









In 1962 Cy Twombly (born 1928 in Lexington, Virginia) painted a work that illustrates many of the abiding engagements of his practice. Untitled is divided into two zones by a horizonal line about two thirds of the way up. Across the bottom edge of the canvas, Twombly has scribbled a textual fragment gleaned from the poet Sappho: "But their heart turned cold + they dropped their wings." The phrase, suggesting a hovering between higher and lower realms, conjures up a distant classical realm, even as the grappling, awkward hand renders the words materially present.



Cy Twombly has long been an Arriviste favourite, revealing through Abstract Expressionism a non-linear approach to poetry through painting & sculpture. Often calling upon Roman mythology, his graffiti-like scribblings create a visual terrain in which his words can settle and exist. Chaotic, visceral, alive.

To learn more about the artist and his work, please visit www.cytwombly.info