White and Black 1952

Ellsworth Kelly made this, White and Black, and you just know it was a real brain teaser. I imagine Kelly, maybe with a wry smile, meticulously applying black paint around those rectangles, each shape a silent note in a visual symphony. Think about the precision it takes, the sheer focus to carve out those forms with such clarity. Kelly's not just painting; he's constructing, building, like a minimalist architect of the canvas. It's stark, but that's where its strength lies, I think. You can see connections to the grids of Agnes Martin or even the monochrome canvases of Ad Reinhardt, but Kelly brings his own cool detachment to the party. Ultimately, art is all about seeing and feeling the world in new ways, and Kelly certainly gets you to do that here.