Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly is considered one of the most important yet idiosyncratic representatives of American art after 1945. The captivating effect of his works derives from the uncompromising simplicity of their visual idiom. The sharp-edged, monochrome coloured forms stand out from the walls as sculptural bodies, changing their appearance according the angle they are viewed from. They taper to a point or seem to subtly stretch or swell, depending on their colour. By functioning as a pictorial ground, as a complementary form or an intervening space, the wall is made an active component of the work and an integral part of how it is perceived. Since the 1950s, Kelly has also worked intensively with sculpture, developing it on an equal footing to his painting. With its single fold, White Curves – the white pleated sculpture standing in the Berower Park – is turned into the Fondation’s multi-perspectival ‘sail’, but it is only when the viewer walks around it that all its various facets are revealed. At the same time, its smooth, shiny surface catches the light and its surroundings in its reflection.

Ellsworth Kelly is considered one of the most important yet idiosyncratic representatives of American art after 1945. The captivating effect of his works derives from the uncompromising simplicity of their visual idiom. The sharp-edged, monochrome coloured forms stand out from the walls as sculptural bodies, changing their appearance according the angle they are viewed from. They taper to a point or seem to subtly stretch or swell, depending on their colour. By functioning as a pictorial ground, as a complementary form or an intervening space, the wall is made an active component of the work and an integral part of how it is perceived. Since the 1950s, Kelly has also worked intensively with sculpture, developing it on an equal footing to his painting. With its single fold, White Curves – the white pleated sculpture standing in the Berower Park – is turned into the Fondation’s multi-perspectival ‘sail’, but it is only when the viewer walks around it that all its various facets are revealed. At the same time, its smooth, shiny surface catches the light and its surroundings in its reflection.

Ellsworth Kelly is considered one of the most important yet idiosyncratic representatives of American art after 1945. The captivating effect of his works derives from the uncompromising simplicity of their visual idiom. The sharp-edged, monochrome coloured forms stand out from the walls as sculptural bodies, changing their appearance according the angle they are viewed from. They taper to a point or seem to subtly stretch or swell, depending on their colour. By functioning as a pictorial ground, as a complementary form or an intervening space, the wall is made an active component of the work and an integral part of how it is perceived. Since the 1950s, Kelly has also worked intensively with sculpture, developing it on an equal footing to his painting. With its single fold, White Curves – the white pleated sculpture standing in the Berower Park – is turned into the Fondation’s multi-perspectival ‘sail’, but it is only when the viewer walks around it that all its various facets are revealed. At the same time, its smooth, shiny surface catches the light and its surroundings in its reflection.