Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cy Twombly


I must mention the passing yesterday in Rome at the age of 83 of American artist Cy Twombly.  A controversial artist, he was dismissed by some critics as a doodler and called Mr. Scribble, but will undoubtedly rank as one of our great American abstract artists. I was always incredibly drawn to the sensual and visceral beauty of his calligraphic/graffiti paintings, and was even inspired by his work to create some large canvases of my own for my home and for clients. He rose to the pinnacle of the art world with his highly personal art that blurred the lines between poetry, drawing, and painting, and his highly original chalkboard art. Fellow Virginians will be interested to know that he was born in Lexington, Virginia, although he spent most of his life as an expat in Italy.







3 comments:

  1. I love this post. So interesting... and I really love these paintings and the "scribbling" on the chalkboard!
    Learning about new artists is one of my favorite things about blogging!

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  2. Controversial as people found his artwork, I always found myself drawn to the simplicity of line in the many paintings featured in magazines.
    Love the many beautiful examples of Chinoiserie style !!!!
    Thanks Beth

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  3. "His" work just draws me in...franki

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