Act In The Gap Between Art and Handwriting

bent priorities photo of an example of a 1973 robert rauschenberg exhibition of white paintings at ace gallery in los angeles, where all the text is written in rauschenberg's lyric block text. it's square like some of the paintings.
via Bent Priorities

Sure Cy Twombly using photos of himself on his exhibition announcements is great, but have you ever considered the ones he wrote? In 2021 Yvon Lambert reissued Twombly’s exhibition posters, which is kind of amazing.

a 1972 announcement for a group show at yvon lambert, where all the artist names are written by cy twombly in an extrordinarily messy hand, even for him.
via Yvon Lambert

The earliest Lambert poster is for a 1972 group show, Actualité d’un bilan, which is great, but honestly, is also kind of a chaotic mess.

So when Dimitris, the ephemera dealer at Bent Priorities, says that two handwritten Rauschenberg exhibition announcements from 1973 show “similar techniques for the use of written word with his long time friend and companion Cy Twombly,” part of me wants to disagree. Because I can actually read Rauschenberg’s posters.

rauschenberg's handwritten gallery announcement for a 1973 show at sonnabend in paris is printed on a sheet of brown paper, folded like a newspaper. via bent priorities
via Bent Priorities

But I do think he’s right. Rauschenberg’s mountainous signature had already become a logo, but that looseness began bleeding into the announcement for a Spring show of White Paintings at Ace Gallery in LA. By the opening of his September show at Sonnabend in Paris, it had soaked all the way through.

It’s worth noting that Twombly and Rauschenberg were together a lot during this moment, mostly long winter stretches in Captiva. The next time Bob showed his Early Egyptian Series was in his two-man show—with Twombly—at Castelli. So whether Rauschenberg used some of Twombly’s techniques, or Twombly used some of Rauschenberg’s, will require closer consideration. But the announcement for that show was, of course, a photo of the two artists.

Rauschenberg White Paintings Ace Gallery show invite, 1973 [bentpriorities]
Rauschenberg Early Egyptian Series Galerie Sonnabend show poster, 1973