Untitled 1970

This painting is by Cy Twombly, and it looks like it was made with white crayon or paint stick on a dark ground. Look at all those marks! They are like a flurry of energy captured on the surface, each one made with a distinct gesture. I can imagine Twombly’s arm sweeping across the surface, feeling the resistance of the medium, and the physicality of making each line. Sometimes I get really into a painting and I feel like I am there with the artist, feeling what they felt as they moved. The painting is reduced to its essence, line and ground. What I love about Twombly is his economy and his apparent messiness. It reminds me of a chalkboard covered with equations or a child’s scribbles—both full of potential and meaning. Painting is like a conversation between artists across time, each responding to what came before, pushing the boundaries of expression, and in that conversation we can find freedom and possibility.