Wednesday, July 6, 2011

FAREWELL, CY TWOMBLY

This morning I read the sad news that Cy Twombly died in Rome yesterday. The Telegraph said this about him:
Cy Twombly, who died on July 5 aged 83, was a reclusive American painter whose work was so individual it barely needed a signature.
I have to agree.  Sometimes an artist’s work just speaks to you and from the first time I visited the Cy Twombly Gallery of the Menil Collection in Houston, I was enthralled, delighted and thoroughly hooked. I didn’t know anything about his background or what inspired his work, only that the huge canvases in the Zen space affected me on a primal level. Sometimes a quick visit through the gallery lightens my day. At other times, I draw peace and inspiration from just sitting on a bench in front of the monumental Untitled (Say Goodbye Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor). Not everyone who passes through likes the paintings or the space, but for me the place holds a magic that never fades.
So, farewell, Cy Twombly, and thank you.

Is there an artist or writer who speaks to you in a special way? Who and why?

1 comment:

sarah andre said...

Edvard Munsch's The Scream. Even though my family gives me silly joke gifts with that depiction of the screaming cartoon-man, when I really look at the art and see the ominous background and the horror on the man's face I get chills.