Materials and Metamorphosis
From 1959 to 1976 Twombly's work on canvas and on paper absorbed his
attention, and he produced no sculpture between those years. When he
again began to work in three dimensions, he executed an entirely new
series of telescoping minimal forms made only from cardboard shipping
tubes, fabric, and paint, such as Untitled
of 1976 (right). His range of sculptural materials extends from the
pedestrian (the tops of olive oil barrels, wooden crates and boxes,
broom handles) to the ephemeral (dried African lilies). In using wood,
his primary ingredient, the artist judiciously combines the textures
of found objects with the rawness of unprocessed or weathered woods.
While the disparate components that constitute these assemblages retain
their distinct character, they are unified by Twombly's coatings of
plaster and white paint. |