Ellsworth Kelly, Small Black Curve

Ellsworth Kelly’s Small Black Curve is a minimalist lithograph that exemplifies his signature focus on form and simplicity, featuring a single bold, sweeping black curve set against a white background. Published to benefit the Guggenheim Museum in 1997, the signed print reflects Kelly’s interest in abstract shapes and their interaction with space, creating a dynamic sense of movement despite its restrained elements.

Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015), an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, was a leading figure in the development of hard-edge painting, color field painting and minimalism. Known for his emphasis on the fundamentals of line, color, and form, Kelly also pioneered innovative techniques such as shaped canvases and multi-panel paintings. His minimalist approach, characterized by large, geometric shapes and monochrome surfaces, marked a significant departure from the expressive styles of his abstract expressionist contemporaries like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. After six years of study in France, Kelly was deeply influenced by European abstract artists including Kazimir Malevich, Paul Klee, and Constantin Brancusi. Unlike his peers who pursued a distinctly American style of abstraction to break away from European traditions, Ellsworth Kelly embraced and reinterpreted these influences, integrating them into his unique visual language. He developed a method of ‘impersonal observation of form,’ drawing inspiration from natural and everyday sources such as architectural structures, plants, and shadows. These observations translated into his artwork as simple yet impactful geometric forms, often with sharp, clearly delineated edges and vibrant, uniform color fields. Kelly’s abstract artworks, including his paintings, sculptures, and fine art prints, showcase a profound exploration of shape and color, stripped of any personal emotion, yet full of rigorous precision. He once explained his artistic vision by saying, “Everywhere I looked, everything I saw became something to be made, and it had to be made exactly as it was, with nothing added.” This philosophy resulted in a body of work that invites viewers to engage with the elemental aspects of visual perception, making Ellsworth Kelly a transformative figure in the landscape of modern abstract art.

Ellsworth Kelly, Small Black Curve