Rob McDonald: Conversations with Cy - Conjured Time

Opening and Artist Talk: May 11, 2023 at 7 pm
Exhibition goes until August 18, 2023

Special Event during FOTO WIEN: June 2, 2023 the gallery is open until 9 pm

For the last twenty years of his life, Cy Twombly returned annually to Lexington, his hometown in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. As evidence of his attachment, he bought a house, and during extended visits in both spring and fall, he created a number of important works in modest studios he rented nearby. In large part, however, he spent his days observing the rhythms of the small college town, taking long reflective drives in the countryside, and exploring entertainments with a small circle of acquaintances. One of those was photographer Rob McDonald.

Over the years, McDonald made many of photographs of Twombly’s home and storefront studio in Lexington’s downtown, typically with the artist himself present. There was not much conversation during those times, but when McDonald shared the images with Twombly, he always seemed curious to see what had caught the photographer’s eye.

The exhibition is organized around three views of places where Twombly worked and which serve as touchstones for McDonald’s reflections on their many conversations about topics ranging from Twombly’s life and work to curiosities of life in the local community.