Cy Twombly: Cycles and Seasons

by Nicholas Serota, Richard Shiff, Nicholas Cullinan

A serious comprehensive overview of Cy Twombly's art has been much in demand for many years, and in this publication we at last have one. Accompanying a major touring retrospective to mark Twombly's eightieth year, it surveys a vast output of paintings, drawings and sculpture by an artist whose indifference to supposed distinctions between Pop and abstraction, between writing, drawing and painting, and between literature and art had, for many years, brought his work severe neglect. Twombly's art upsets the prudish purist with its hybridism; as he declares, "I'm not a pure; I'm not an abstractionist completely. There has to be a history behind the thought." For Twombly, this history entails a wealth of literary and mythic allusion and an openness to all kinds of forms. Alongside contributions from Richard Shiff, Nicolas Cullinan and Tacita Dean, this essential volume also presents a rare and revealing interview with the artist by Nicholas Serota, an illustrated chronology, an exhibition history and an extensive biography. It will be the most thorough examination of the life and work of this extraordinary artist for years to come.
Cy Twombly is a leading figure in a heterogeneous generation of American artists that also includes Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Unlike these others, he left America early in his career to live and work in Italy, where he has drawn inspiration from European literature, classical culture and the Italian landscape.

Genres: Art, Visual Art, Art History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2008

Reviews

[Mind the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hittade till Cy Twombly en gång i tiden via Basquiat. Boken kommer från museishoppen på Centre Pompidou där utställning pågår t.o.m. 24 april.

Trevlig tvåspråkig bokserie även med/av/om Rodin, Claudel, Le Corbusier, Chagall et consortes. Uppskattar att konstnären får tillfälle att tala om den kreativa processen: "Je me laisse emporter parfois.", säger Twombly, och "Je passe de plus en plus de temps assis à la fenêtre, à regarder la mer."

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful reproductions. Caveats: Too much emphasis on text, skips several key series altogether, wastes space on his worst work (The Green Paintings). On the plus side: It's Twombly, currently in print, highlights his remarkable recent work, and contains enough stunning images to make a believer out of anyone.

[Jill Gottschalk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reproduction images of Twombly's work, and an engaging interview with Nicholas Serota. The book is divided into sections by groups of paintings, with an essay by various authors for each section. I would have given 5 stars if the book included the Blackboard paintings.

[Martin Mcdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is the most appalling essay at the start of this book, which makes me wonder; do organiser of major art exhibitions compete to find the most confusing, least helpful essays?

[Cat Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great selection of Twombly's work and an intriguing interview with Nicholas Serota.