Running White 1959

Ellsworth Kelly made "Running White" using paint on canvas, and it’s a dance of monochrome that feels both simple and strangely complex. There’s something so deliberate about the way Kelly applies paint. The stark contrast between the solid black background and the smooth, uninterrupted white lines is almost severe, but not quite. The edges are so sharp they almost seem to cut through the canvas, creating a dynamic tension. Take a close look at the curves of the white shapes, there is something so satisfying about the geometry of the piece. Kelly’s dedication to form and color reminds me a little of Sol LeWitt, but with a softer edge. Like LeWitt, Kelly prompts us to see how reduction can lead to a kind of visual abundance, an ongoing dialogue between what’s there and what’s been left out.