Ellsworth Kelly
Works on Paper
📘 About This Book
Published to coincide with a major exhibition to tour both the US and Europe, this volume offers a survey of Kelly's paintings, sculptures, works on paper and photographs. The catalogue spans five decades, beginning in the late 1940s.
📖 Summary
Published in 1987 to coincide with a major international exhibition that toured across both the United States and Europe, Diane Upright's comprehensive monograph on Ellsworth Kelly serves as a definitive survey of one of the twentieth century's most influential and distinctive artists. Spanning 238 pages, the volume offers readers an in-depth exploration of Kelly's remarkable career, carefully documenting his artistic evolution across five distinct decades beginning in the late 1940s. Throughout the book, Upright thoughtfully examines the expansive breadth of Kelly's creative output, ensuring that the survey is not limited to a single medium but rather encompasses his celebrated paintings, his innovative sculptures, his delicate works on paper, and his lesser-known yet fascinating photographs. By organizing the material chronologically and thematically, the author provides a clear narrative thread that traces how Kelly developed his signature visual vocabulary, which famously bridged the gaps between abstract expressionism, hard-edge painting, and minimal art. The monograph pays close attention to the foundational years of the late 1940s and 1950s, a period when Kelly lived and worked in Paris, absorbing the architectural and natural surroundings that would profoundly influence his approach to form, color, and space for the remainder of his life. As the decades progress within the pages of the book, readers witness Kelly's continuous experimentation with pure color, distinct geometric and organic shapes, and the deliberate relationship between his artworks and the surrounding architectural environment. Upright's insightful text illuminates the rigor behind Kelly's seemingly effortless compositions, demonstrating how his meticulous attention to line, plane, and shadow fundamentally challenged traditional notions of how art occupies space. The inclusion of numerous high-quality reproductions of paintings and sculptures allows the visual evidence to speak powerfully alongside the critical commentary, offering a holistic viewing experience for anyone unable to attend the physical exhibition. Furthermore, the inclusion of works on paper and photographs provides a rare, intimate glimpse into Kelly's daily observation of the world, revealing how everyday shadows, plant forms, and architectural details were abstracted and transformed into his iconic finished pieces. Whether detailing the subtle shifts in his palette or the bold, monumental scale of his multi-panel canvases, this 1987 publication stands as an essential historical document and a deeply engaging aesthetic journey through the life's work of a master modernist.
🎯 Key Lessons
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
Provides a thorough survey spanning five decades of Ellsworth Kelly's career
Covers a diverse range of mediums including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and photographs
Serves as an informative catalogue companion to a major international exhibition
Offers insightful critical commentary by author Diane Upright
⚠️ Cons
Limited to works created up until its 1987 publication date, omitting the final decades of Kelly's career
May not provide exhaustive technical details for readers seeking an academic catalogue raisonné
❓ FAQ
When was the book published? +
The book was published in 1987 to coincide with a major international exhibition.
Who is the author of the book? +
The book was authored by Diane Upright.
How many pages are in the volume? +
The volume contains 238 pages.
What mediums of Ellsworth Kelly's work are covered? +
The survey covers Kelly's paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and photographs.
What time period does the book's survey span? +
The catalogue spans five decades, beginning in the late 1940s.
