Suma - Cy Twombly

A 1982 work by Cy Twombly featuring a dense, gestural mass of red oil stick and handwritten text on paper.

Suma (1982) captures the distinct gestural language of Cy Twombly, an artist known for his synthesis of drawing and painting. The work features a dense, central mass of red oil stick, applied with a frenetic energy that suggests a continuous, looping motion. This central form occupies the majority of the composition, contrasting against the stark, off-white ground of the paper.

Twombly often incorporated textual elements into his visual works, and here, the inclusion of the mantra 'Om mani padme hum' at the top of the sheet provides a meditative counterpoint to the physical intensity of the red scribbles. The handwritten script, rendered in graphite, maintains a delicate, ephemeral quality that balances the heavy, saturated marks below. The date and location, inscribed in the upper left, ground the work in a specific moment of the artist's life, reflecting his practice of documenting his surroundings through his art.

This piece demonstrates Twombly's interest in the physical act of mark-making. The layers of red oil stick reveal the pressure and speed of his hand, creating a texture that feels both immediate and raw. By stripping away traditional representational forms, Twombly focuses the viewer on the rhythm of the line and the emotional weight of colour. The composition avoids a fixed centre, instead drawing the eye across the chaotic, overlapping loops that define the work's core. As with much of his output from this period, the work functions as a record of movement, where the boundary between writing and drawing becomes blurred. It is a study in spontaneity, capturing a fleeting thought or sensation through a repetitive, almost ritualistic application of medium.