Blue Form on Yellow 1962

Ellsworth Kelly's 'Blue Form on Yellow' is a play of flatness. I see a shape carefully placed; it is a cut-out and collage—vivid yellow paper hosting a cobalt blue form, almost symmetrical, like a wonky bow tie. I can imagine Kelly, scissors in hand, teasing this shape into being. Maybe he was thinking about the negative space just as much as the blue itself. There is a certain feeling that this shape, like all his shapes, were found, plucked from the world. It is like he's saying, "Hey, look at this thing that already exists!" The yellow isn't just a background; it's a charged field, pushing the blue forward. It reminds me of Matisse's cut-outs, but with a cooler, more detached vibe. Both artists, though, share a love for how simple shapes can hold so much visual power. It’s this economy of means that gets me. How little you need to say so much. Kelly leaves space for us to bring our own experience to the table, and somehow, in its apparent simplicity, it reflects something back about the act of seeing itself.