Line, Form, Color

by Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly first conceived Line Form Color in 1951 as a series of studies, both drawings and collages. Later that year he applied to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for a grant to produce a book, "an alphabet of plastic pictorial elements," but the application was not successful. With this volume, Kelly has brought Line Form Color to completion. Its forty plates correspond to the original collages. This slipcased edition also includes an essay by Harry Cooper, curator of modern art at the Harvard University Art Museums.

108 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 1999

About the author

Ellsworth Kelly was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, color and form, similar to the work of John McLaughlin and Kenneth Noland. Kelly often employed bright colors. He lived and worked in Spencertown, New York.

Reviews

[Taylor Zartman]

There's something so endearingly hopeful about creating a universal language. An Esperanto of aesthetics, if you will. Since this was conceptualized right around when Kelly was teaching in Paris, I can't help but wonder how his role as an educator might have informed this work.

Solid accompanying essay as well.