This exhibition provided context for a concurrent Cy Twombly retrospective on view, featuring works by American and European contemporaries of Twombly as well as by artists who influenced him and whom he influenced. Many works from MOCA's Panza Collection were featured, among them seven combines by Twombly's close friend Robert Rauschenberg, six works by Jean Fautrier, and eight paintings by Franz Kline. Also included were three paintings by Mark Rothko and six works by Antoni Tapies. Several works from the Rita and Taft Schreiber Collection were on view, including those by Alberto Giacometti and Jackson Pollock. The Barry Lowen Collection was represented by Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, and Robert Ryman. Also on view were Sam Francis's Grey (1951), Elsworth Kelly's Chatham IV: Blue/Red (1971) and Curve IV (1974), and Lee Krasner's Primeval Resurgence (1961).
Works from the Permanent Collection was organized by Paul Schimmel, Chief Curator, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.