Cy Twombly: Making Past Present
Gallery view, left to right: Leaving Paphos Ringed with Waves (III), 2009 (The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection); Leaving Paphos Ringed with Waves (IV), 2009 (Private Collection Courtesy Gagosian); Untitled (Odalisca) (1 of 6), 1988 (Collection Cy Twombly Foundation); Untitled (Toilet of Venere) (2 of 6), 1988, (Collection Cy Twombly Foundation). © Cy Twombly Foundation Cy Twombly (1928–2011) ranks among the most prominent US painters to emerge in the 1950s, a period of radical experimentation in American and European art. Combining gestural strokes of paint, broad areas of empty space, and words scribbled in a nearly illegible hand, Twombly’s work can be enigmatic, even perplexing. Making sense of it requires an appreciation of his attitudes toward history, place, and cultural memory. This exhibition explores Twombly’s art through the lens of ancient Greek and Roman culture, a consistent source of inspiration throughout his career. Twombly avoided centers of modern art like New York