Published in 2018 on the occasion of the first exhibition of Cy Twombly’s photographs in Lebanon, held at Sursock Museum in Beirut.

The exhibition catalogue, Cy Twombly: Photographs, features the following bilingual text in Arabic and English: an introductory note, an essay by Carlos Peris, and a short biography of the artist with a list of institutional exhibitions from 2008 to 2017. The volume also features photographic plates illustrating the thirty photographs exhibited, alongside a selection of exhibition views. The list of the works in the exhibition closes the catalogue.

The essay, “Cy Twombly, Amātor,” by Carlos Peris explores the relationship between Cy Twombly and the camera. It highlights how the artist constantly sought to push the limits of the photographic medium in order to express the aesthetic sensibility, as well as the intellectual and artistic rigour that set him apart: “These images reveal the actions and reactions of an artist permanently aware of his surroundings. This mindfulness materializes as a poetic essence which, in this case, is in the form of a photograph where experience and medium unite. The purpose and game of the photographic medium is finally eradicated as the artist’s state of mind is encapsulated in a single defining image.”

For an overview of international exhibitions dedicated to Cy Twombly’s photographic work, scholars should be interested to consult the following exhibition catalogues: Cy Twombly: Photographs, published by Matthew Marks Gallery (1993); States of Mind: Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Drawing, published by the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (2009); Cy Twombly: Photographs III 1951–2010, published by the Museum Brandhorst and Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (2011); Cy Twombly: A Survey of Photographs 1954–2011, published by Gagosian Gallery (2012); Cy Twombly. Fotografie di Gaeta, published by Fondazione Nicola Del Roscio (2014); Cy Twombly: Photographs, published by Gagosian Gallery (2015); Cy Twombly: Ausgewählte Fotografien / Selected Photographs 1944–2006, published by Museum Frieder Burda (2016); Cy Twombly Photographs: Lyrical Variations, published by the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art (2016).

Published in 2018 on the occasion of the exhibition Cy Twombly: Photographs at Sursock Museum, Beirut (March 30 – May 7, 2018).

Cy Twombly: Photographs. Text by Carlos Peris. Beirut: Sursock Museum, 2018. Arabic/English edition.