TWOMBLY

Although Abstract Expressionism symbolized the end of painting for some, there was a group of young artists who emerged in the 1950s who sought to re-establish painting apart from the medium-dictated supremacy of established artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Cy Twombly (1928) is one of the most important post-AbEx artists, 1/3 of the artistic triumvirate consisting of Twombly, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg.

An American artist, Twombly's early position as a cryptologist for the U.S. Army greatly influenced his later artwork.

Twombly's work consists mostly in large-scale paintings reminiscent of graffiti, particularly that which would be found on a chalkboard or on a bathroom wall.

These works combine painting and drawing, and take the actual line or mark itself as their subject.

Twombly's work set the stage for later graffiti artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, and he continues to work in a handwritten, yet more representational style.

I'm wearing Ann Demeulemeester paint-splattered pants, a Free People silk blouse, Fashion Against AIDS necklace, Steve Madden sandals, and a Cynthia Rowley clutch.

[Twombly images from slowpainting.wordpress.com, mlbrownandco.wordpress.com, and creatives.posterous.com, respectively.]