Cy Twombly Gallery, Houston

The Cy Twombly Gallery in Houston is a single-artist installation that showcases the work of the late Cy Twombly, an artist who defied any specific art movement. Cy Twombly was born in Virginia and was a voracious reader who traveled extensively in his youth. His inspiration came from ancient Mediterranean history and geography, Greek and Roman mythology, classical literature, and poetry, which he transformed into exuberant, sensual canvases.

The Menil Collection approached Cy Twombly in the early 1990s about creating a single-artist installation, which he was very enthusiastic about. He was involved in both the building and the selection and placement of artworks. The Cy Twombly Gallery features a retrospective of the artist's career, dating from 1953 to 2004, with a collection of large canvases, sculptural works, and suites of paintings and drawings.

Visitors to the Cy Twombly Gallery can see five paintings from 1959, which feature subtle graphic notations on white grounds. They can also view the vividly colored Bay of Naples and Triumph of Galatea, both from 1961, and three of the so-called "Blackboard" paintings of the late 1960s. Additionally, the gallery features five paintings dedicated to German Romantic poet Rainer Maria Rilke from 1985 and the untitled "Green Paintings" that Twombly showed at the 1988 Venice Biennale.

One of the highlights of the Cy Twombly Gallery is an entire room dedicated to the artist's monumental Untitled (Say Goodbye, Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor), 1994. The Cy Twombly Gallery is an excellent place for art lovers to explore the works of one of the most original and enigmatic artists of the late 20th century. The gallery provides an immersive experience into the artist's world of iconography, metaphor, language, and myth.