Vertical Line from the series Line Form Color 1951

Ellsworth Kelly made this, Vertical Line from the series Line Form Color, by placing a bold black line on an off-white surface, like a lone figure standing tall. You know, I get this. As a painter, you're always looking for ways to distill the world, to find its essence. Kelly does that here. It feels like he's saying, "Look, this is all you need. A line. A color. Space." He took the stuff of the world and boiled it down. Kelly's known for his hard edges and simple shapes, kind of like cut-outs in space. With his method, he asks us to see the potential in reduction, like a conversation about what is truly essential. It's like he's inviting us to find beauty and meaning in the simplest of forms.