Cy Twombly – Artist

This week, the art world lost an iconic figure, Cy Twombly whose graffiti-style paintings on large canvases made him the heir to Jackson Pollock in the eyes of many, Cy Twombly died in a hospital in Rome at the age of 83 on July 5th.

His influence on me was profound, Twombly began using his characteristic scrawl for his 1976 series “Six Latin Writers and Poets,” later in 1989, a Twombly piece sold for more than $1 million for the first time at auction.

When painting, “It’s more like I’m having an experience than making a picture,”  Twombly said. Afterward, “I usually have to go to bed for a couple of days.”

Cy Twombly established dialog as an art form, and he encouraged me to develop my own form of iconoclastic cryptology as coded language and to incorporate it into my work.

He will be missed by the many who were stopped in their tracks by one of his works – that degree of emotional beauty is rare.  His absence will be keenly felt by those who, through his artwork, found the man.

Click on the image to view a small sample of Cy’s art, then zoom in to see details.