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| Ellsworth Kelly, born
in Newburgh, New York, studied art briefly in New York and Boston
in the early ‘40s before spending six years in Paris at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts, under the post-war G.I. Bill. There he was
primarily influenced by Russian Constructivism,
a style known for its clear, flat forms, and by the French master
of color, Henri Matisse. Upon Kelly’s return to America
in the mid-1950s, he became attracted to the larger-scaled Abstract
Expressionist art. Since 1954, Kelly’s
unique emphasis on pure color and de-emphasis of the artist’s
hand has made him one of the most influential figures in abstract
and Minimal
art. He, along with Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, and Donald Judd,
was among the major figures responsible for the shift to geometry-based
art in the ‘60s. Kelly’s solid shapes produce optical
effects through simple color contrasts. The artist currently lives
in Spencertown, New York, and is one of the most inventive artists;
his technical mastery and draftsmanship continue to influence
new generations of artists. The shapes in Ellsworth Kelly’s paintings of the late ‘50s were taken from natural sources: silhouettes of windows, shadows, and patterns of light. Kelly’s use of bright, highly saturated color placed side-by-side produces an intense visual effect for the viewer. Although the three colors are of different shapes and sizes, none of them dominates the composition. Kelly has removed the common elements of foreground, middleground, and background, which are commonly used to organize a traditional landscape painting. This particular painting was originally inspired by a black and white photograph of a swing set. Kelly then reduced the image down to the bare essential lines of the image and added color. This artwork was the focus of a large traveling exhibition curated by Toby Kamps and accompanied by an exhibition catalogue called Ellsworth Kelly: Red Blue Green, published by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2002).  (For Grades K-2) What materials were used to create this artwork? Name the primary colors in this painting. Name the secondary color. What types of lines are in this painting? What shapes are in this painting? What do you think this is a painting of? (For Grades 3-5) What is this a painting of? What makes you think that? What shapes can you find in this painting? What emotions do you feel when you look at this painting? How big do you think this painting is? Would the painting have a different effect if its scale was changed? |
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Ellsworth Kelly United States, born 1923 Red Blue Green Oil on canvas, 1963 Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack M. Farris, 1978.3 © Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego |
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