Ellsworth Kelly. Three Panels: Orange, Dark Gray, Green. 1986

Ellsworth Kelly Three Panels: Orange, Dark Gray, Green 1986

  • Not on view

In this triptych Kelly has choreographed three shaped canvases into a subtle dance of color and form. A dynamic rhythm is created by the contrast between triangular and trapezoidal forms, the irregular spacing and positioning of the shapes, and the play of curved and straight edges.

In 1991 Kelly reflected on his shaped canvases: "When you make a line or mark on a panel, you are involved in depiction, and what I wanted expressed was the form of the painting itself . . . the wall became the ground and the panels became the marks on the wall." These highly saturated monochromatic panels revise the traditional relationship between figure and ground and blur the distinction between painting and sculpture by simultaneously invoking qualities associated with both

Gallery label from Focus: Ellsworth Kelly, 2007.
Medium
Oil on canvas, three panels
Dimensions
Overall 9' 8" x 34' 4 1/2" (294.6 x 1047.7 cm)
Credit
Gift of Douglas S. Cramer Foundation
Object number
776.1995.a-c
Copyright
© 2021 Ellsworth Kelly
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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