Karsten greve celebrates 80th birthday with Cy Twombly exhibition

In Paris, art dealer Karsten Greve marked his 80th birthday by presenting drawings from Cy Twombly’s “Sperlonga” series.

Greve discovered Twombly’s work in the 1960s, recognizing a unique vision in the artist’s early abstract expressionist pieces. He quickly acquired a piece from the “Sperlonga” series, which became the foundation of his extensive Twombly collection. The “Sperlonga” series originated during a summer Twombly spent in the Italian coastal town of Sperlonga in 1959.

There, inspired by ancient ruins and Renaissance art, Twombly developed his signature style of graffiti-like markings, erasures, and layers of white paint. These drawings, created on paper, often incorporate enigmatic inscriptions and allusions to mythology, specifically referencing figures like Sappho. Greve is currently exhibiting 19 works from the “Sperlonga” series, a collection comprised of 14 pieces from his personal holdings and five loans from the Twombly Foundation.

He intends to keep the entire exhibition intact, refusing to sell any of the drawings. Greve spent his birthday in the gallery, discussing the works with visitors and sharing his passion for Twombly’s art, an art he describes as “visual education.”