Ellsworth Kelly Paintings will include a range of painting-objects, as well as some of Kelly s drawings. (In spite of the high theoretical formalism of Kelly s work, his paintings are not nonobjective, but true abstractions of forms in nature, most pointedly and poignantly revealed in his drawings).
Van de Weghe Fine art is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by
American master Ellsworth Kelly. For five decades, Kelly s abstraction of the
traditional components of painting has resulted in singularly compelling works
that transcend the distinctions between painting and sculpture. By eliminating
figure, ground, brushwork, and composition in favor of color and form (often
through an unusual demarcation of the canvas edge), Kelly subtly alters the
field for visual perception, creating an illusion that belies the painting as
a flat surface in two dimensions. This triumph over the picture plane has
transformed our conception of the relationship between painting, sculpture,
and the physical context in which such an object resides. Kelly s genius in
this regard has been and continues to be profoundly influential in both the
praxis and the philosophy of art.
Ellsworth Kelly Paintings will include a range of painting-objects, as well
as some of Kelly s drawings. (In spite of the high theoretical formalism of
Kelly s work, his paintings are not nonobjective, but true abstractions of
forms in nature, most pointedly and poignantly revealed in his drawings).
Notably on view will be a masterpiece of critic Clement Greenberg's
postpainterly abstraction: an immaculately rendered canvas in black and white,
dating from 1958. The exhibition will also include several of Kelly s iconic,
monochromatic shaped canvases: vivid expanses of color, here in Kelly s
classic blue, a deep forest green, and a rarely seen violet hue. A monumental,
double-panel canvas in grey and red, hovering similarly between two and three
dimensions, completes this small survey of important works.
In all, the works on view, spanning forty years of the artist s career,
demonstrate the richness Kelly s minimalist aesthetic, and just how eloquent
the simplest of forms can be. Kelly s work will also be on view at Whitney
Museum of American Art, in the exhibition Ellsworth Kelly: Red, Green, Blue,
Paintings and Studies, 1958 1965, through November 3.
Image: Wright Curve, 1996. Hot-rolled steel, 115 x 115 x 1 1/2 inches. Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum collection
The gallery will host an opening reception on October 2, 2003, from 6:00 8:00
pm.
Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am 6:00 pm, and by appointment.
Van de Weghe Fine art
521 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10011
tel 212 929 6633
fax 212 929 6632