Cy Twombly – Reiner Speck. Fragments of an Adoration

Rich intellectual and aesthetic points of contact between artist and collector, that’s how Reiner Speck sees it. Dr Reiner Speck is a renowned physician and one of the most important bibliophiles of our time. Over more than six decades he has built up an unparalleled collection of antiquarian literature, including world-famous collections on the Renaissance poet and scholar Petrarch and on the French writer Marcel Proust. Speck’s passion for collecting goes beyond books, however. Since the late 1960s he has been intensively involved in contemporary art through the acquisition of artists‘ books. His extensive collection of works on paper by the American artist Cy Twombly (1928–2011) holds a special place. This collection of drawings from the 1950s to the early 1980s, of prints, multiples, photographs and artists‘ books reflects an intensive intellectual engagement with Twombly’s work sustained over decades. The connection between Dr Speck and Twombly began around 1970, when the two met in front of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Speck had travelled to Rome especially in order to meet the artist and to ask him to sign a drawing from 1957 which he had acquired in Cologne two years earlier. This meeting marked the beginning of a deep friendship based on mutual respect and a shared passion for art and literature. Over the years their dialogue developed far beyond a typical artist-collector relationship and was enriched by Speck’s numerous visits with his family to Twombly’s residence in Italy. The book concentrates on Speck’s collection of Twombly’s works on paper and places them in their literary context, describing the manifold intellectual and aesthetic points of contact between the artist and his collector. By concentrating on the works in this collection it offers a rare opportunity to discover the deep affinity between Twombly’s artistic practice and Speck’s literary engagement.

Exhibition:
Maison d’Art, Los Angeles, 11/2 – 24/5/2025