Autumn (Red Curve) 1984

Ellsworth Kelly made "Autumn (Red Curve)" with paint, although I don’t know exactly when. Looking at it, I imagine him feeling his way through color and form. There's that crisp, confident red that just *sings*. I'm thinking about how this kind of flat, bold color really messes with your sense of space. You know, it's like, is it receding, is it coming forward? That red curve isn't just a shape, it's a whole vibe. What was he trying to do here? I feel the same way when I work in my studio. It's like a conversation with myself, through shapes and colors. You keep pushing and pulling, trying something, erasing it, trying something else. It’s all about that dialogue between intention and accident. I can see echoes of Matisse in Kelly's use of pure color. Artists are always riffing off each other, like a big, ongoing jam session. With "Autumn (Red Curve)" Kelly offers a way of seeing the world that's both simple and incredibly complex, all at the same time.