Cy Twombly has passed away in Rome. My first exposure to his work was through the building that housed it when I made my pilgrimage to the Menil collection in 2002. I went to see the work of Renzo Piano and was introduced to the works contained within his architecture. That day was like awakening into a dream. Piano's Twombly gallery is light, graceful and plain if such a word can be used to describe something so silently powerful. While others have hurled themselves at Twombly's works, I had a horrifying desire to press my face against the cold, beautifully smooth, Italian masonry walls. The walls were covered by layers of translucent material that rested lightly and gracefully, allowing ambient light to softly wash the rooms that held the works.
To me Twombly's art is a nonlinear timeline that alludes to mythology, eroticism and poetry. For others it is so much more.
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To me Twombly's art is a nonlinear timeline that alludes to mythology, eroticism and poetry. For others it is so much more.
Comments
And thanks for introducing me to the work of Robert Mannino (in your sidebars), I've been looking for artists who make sculpture with paper, particularly works I can visit en route to Sicily next spring.
Yes, you should meet Roberto if you can; he has also done sculpture (he worked with brass when he was at RISD) but paper is his preferred medium. I met him in 2006 when I part of the Cornell in Rome program. The art students loved him. I spent the day before I left at his studio assisting him. He wrapped my new Italian purse in paper so that I had a small, sculptural memento. It is one of my favorite memories.