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Cy Twombly

Untitled (New York City)

Information about the artwork

  • Year1968
  • MaterialAcrylic on canvas
  • Dimensions201 x 261.5 cm
  • Year of acquisition1992
  • Inventory numberUAB 448
  • On viewUpper floor
  • Copyright© Cy Twombly Foundation

More about the artwork

The lines in “Untitled (New York City)” progress across the painting in one go, from left to right. Each individual stroke registers both the fact that the artist moved along the canvas and the manner in which he did so. We can see when he slowed down, when the pressure of the chalk was released or increased, how brief interruptions while moving created kinks and loops; and how the lines come closer, touch, and then move apart again. Despite some similarity to post-minimalistic procedures, the difference could hardly be greater: Twombly’s painting invites the eyes to move along the lines, to enjoy them in all their nuances. “In Twombly’s work,” wrote Roland Barthes, “the ‘ductus’ dominates: not its rules, but rather its games, its fantasies, its discoveries, its inertia.”

Further artworks

Artwork: "Rolling Stones – Love You Live (Mick Jagger)" from Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol Rolling Stones – Love You Live (Mick Jagger), 1975 yes Ground floor
Artwork: "Yesterdayness in America Today" from Kara Walker
Kara Walker Yesterdayness in America Today, 2020 yes Ground floor
Artwork: "Al and Tom" from Alex Katz
Alex Katz Al and Tom, 1969 yes Ground floor
Artwork: "Untitled (Camino Real)" from Cy Twombly
Cy Twombly Untitled (Camino Real), 2011 yes Upper floor
Artwork: "Lepanto VII" from Cy Twombly
Cy Twombly Lepanto VII, 2001 yes Upper floor