Untitled 1962

Ellsworth Kelly made this untitled work on paper, using paint, in a process that feels very immediate and intuitive. It’s striking how Kelly’s choice of black paint commands such a strong presence. The texture is not uniform; you can see the brushstrokes and the way the paint pools in certain areas. This gives the form a kind of depth, as if it’s breathing on the page. Notice how the edges of the shape aren’t perfectly clean, there's a slight fuzziness there. The little pencil marks in the corners give a sense of scale. This single, bold shape is so present. Kelly’s work reminds me a little of Matisse's cut-outs. Both artists share an interest in reducing forms to their most essential elements. Like a visual haiku, it invites us to contemplate the relationship between form and space, presence and absence, in the simplest and most profound terms.