Ellsworth Kelly
American, 1923-2015
Throughout his diverse practice, Ellsworth Kelly focused on ways in which he could explore the dynamic relationships between color, shape, and form, significantly influencing the development of Minimalism, Hard-edge and Color Field painting, and Pop art. He also created some of contemporary art’s first paintings on irregularly shaped canvases. Blue, Yellow and Red depicts three equally sized, primary-colored bands placed side-by-side, extending the length of the painting. The leaning angle of this elongated parallelogram gives it a dynamic quality. About his approach to his compositions, Kelly stated in 1964, “I’m not interested in edges, I’m interested in the mass and color. . . . The edges happen because the forms get as quiet as they can be. I want the masses to perform.”
Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018