A Rainy Encounter with Cy Twombly

One rainy Friday afternoon in 1964, 24-year-old Richard Serra, then completing his studies at Yale, took a train from New Haven to New York City. There, on East 77th Street, he visited the Leo Castelli Gallery and encountered the evocative paintings of Cy Twombly for the first time. The experience left a lasting impression. “They gnawed at me,” Serra recalled. “I couldn’t forget them.”

Today, decades later, the work of Cy Twombly continues to provoke deep, unforgettable reactions. His large-scale, expressive paintings captivate viewers with their intensity and emotional resonance. His latest exhibition, “A Scattering of Blossoms and Other Things,” at Gagosian Gallery in New York, further cements his legacy as a visionary of contemporary art.

The Poetic Power of Peonies

The exhibition features recent works by Cy Twombly, now 79, and is themed around the peony—a flower revered for its beauty, symbolism, and fragility. The peony, much like Twombly’s art, is layered with complexity. Gardeners know it as temperamental yet rewarding, slow to bloom but long-lasting when undisturbed. These qualities mirror Twombly’s artistic evolution: deeply rooted, unhurried, and unforgettable.

The Challenge of Classifying Cy Twombly

Cy Twombly resists easy classification. While often grouped with Abstract Expressionists like Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, his style diverges significantly. A Virginia native, Twombly studied in Boston and New York before attending Black Mountain College. In 1957, he relocated to Rome, seeking creative refuge from the bustling New York art scene.

In Italy, Twombly fused abstraction with classical references, blending the old and the new. His work merges drawing and painting, lament and reverie, capturing fleeting emotions in layers of line and color. Like the careful placement of peonies in a garden, Twombly’s chosen setting was essential to his artistic growth.

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Gagosian’s Monumental Display

The Gagosian’s 21st Street location offers an ideal backdrop for Twombly’s recent creations. The gallery showcases ten paintings and one sculpture, all executed in 2007. Six expansive horizontal paintings, each approximately 18 feet wide and 8 feet tall, dominate the main room.

These works depict blooming peonies in vibrant, chaotic compositions. Scribbles in pencil and wax crayon, smudged handprints, and delicate haikus appear amidst cascading acrylic paint. The blossoms seem to float across the panels, tethered only by trails of dripping pigment.

An Evolving Color Palette

In previous exhibitions, Cy Twombly employed deep reds. Here, his color choices are more varied and exuberant. On one wall, orange blossoms flirt with celadon green. Another features a trio of paintings on bright yellow backdrops, the flowers rendered in burgundy, red-orange, and pink.

The central painting of this trio is especially striking. The blooms burst with movement, their contours reminiscent of the human brain’s folds. Twombly’s flowers aren’t static symbols—they pulse with life, memory, and sensation.

Words That Resonate

Historian Robert Pincus-Witten, writing in the exhibition catalog, calls Twombly’s textual elements “flirtatious iconography.” Scrawled haikus reference 14th-century Japanese poet-samurai Kusunoki Masatsura, who died young in battle. These poetic lines enhance the artwork’s emotional gravity without overpowering it.

Twombly’s inscriptions, such as “quiver,” “kikaku,” and “from the heart of the peony a drunken bee,” evoke visceral imagery. Though seemingly casual, each phrase is intentional. The words buzz in your mind, just as the flowers bloom in your memory.

East Meets West: Cultural Symbolism in Twombly’s Work

While Pincus-Witten emphasizes Japanese associations, the peony also has deep roots in Chinese tradition. The Chinese name, mutan, includes the character for cinnabar, a symbol of immortality. This rich symbolism aligns perfectly with Cy Twombly’s enduring artistic legacy.

Just as the peony flourished across cultures, Twombly’s art transcends boundaries. His canvases echo ancient myths, modern emotions, and timeless beauty—all expressed through abstraction.

Cy Twombly and the Legacy of Influence

Artists like Cy Twombly shape not only the visual arts but also the emotional landscapes of those who encounter their work. His approach to mark-making and symbolism recalls, in a different register, the dreamlike imagination of Marc Chagall. While Chagall filled his canvases with floating lovers and folkloric motifs, Twombly scribbles memory into myth, blending spontaneity with deep cultural memory.

Both artists navigate between emotion and history, giving form to intangible experience. They remind us that great art doesn’t shout; it whispers, lingers, and eventually imprints itself on our inner world.

Conclusion: The Enduring Bloom of Cy Twombly

Cy Twombly’s “Scattered Blossoms” is not merely an art exhibition—it is a sensory and intellectual journey. Like the peonies he paints, Twombly’s work demands patience and reflection. Each bloom, each phrase, each stroke contributes to a larger narrative that is as ephemeral as it is eternal.

In a world obsessed with clarity and speed, Twombly reminds us of the beauty of mystery, the power of restraint, and the importance of place—in art and in life. His work, like that of Marc Chagall, invites us to float, to feel, and to remember.

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