Cy Twombly - Reiner Speck. Fragments of an Adoration

The rich intellectual and aesthetic intersections between the artist and his collector

Dr Reiner Speck is a distinguished physician and one of the most prominent bibliophiles of our time. Over more than six decades, he has built an unparalleled collection of antiquarian literature, including world-famous collections of Renaissance poet and scholar Petrarch and French novelist Marcel Proust. However, Speck's passion for collecting extends beyond books. Since the late 1960s, he has also been deeply committed to acquiring artists' books and contemporary art. His extensive collection of works on paper by the American artist Cy Twombly (1928-2011) is especially noteworthy. This collection includes drawings from the 1950s to the early 1980s, prints, multiples, photographs, and artists' books, and reflects a profound and decades-long intellectual engagement with Twombly's work. The connection between Dr Speck and Twombly began around 1970, when the two met in front of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Speck had traveled to Rome specifically to meet the artist and to ask him to sign a 1957 drawing he had acquired two years earlier in Cologne, and which is on view in this exhibition. This meeting marked the beginning of a deep friendship built on mutual respect and a shared passion for art and literature. Their fruitful dialogue evolved over the years far beyond the typical artist-collector relationship and was further enriched by Speck's numerous visits with his family to Twombly's residence in Italy. This exhibition and the accompanying book focuses on Speck's outstanding collection of Twombly's works on paper. By placing these works within a literary context, it explores the rich intellectual and aesthetic intersections between the artist and his collector. By concentrating on works from this collection, the exhibition and the accompanying book offers a rare opportunity to delve into the profound affinity between Twombly's artistic practice and Speck's literary commitments.

Exhibition:
Maison d'Art, Los Angeles, 11/2 - 24/5/2025