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Indepth Arts News:
"Ellsworth Kelly: The Early Drawings. 1948-1955"
1999-09-11 until 1999-12-05
The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL,
USA United States of America
September
11-December
5, 1999
Daylit
Galleries,
The
Daniel F.
and Ada
L. Rice
Building
Bold colors, geometric tensions,
contradictions and the principles of
chance govern the creations of
Ellsworth Kelly, major contributor to
the development of American abstract
art. His current works, characterized
by 50-foot monochromatic totems and
large-scale panels, stand in sharp
contrast to the much smaller and more
complex drawings of grids,
checkerboards, and patterns that
characterize his early work of the late
1940s and early 1950s. This
exhibition features 222 works on
paper from this early period of Kelly's
life, dating from 1948 to 1955. Many
of the works come directly from the
artist and other private collections and
predate the critical acclaim which
began with Kelly's first solo U.S.
exhibition in 1956.
While studying in Boston and subsequently
Paris, Kelly was influenced by the
architectural profiles and cast shadows of
buildings, arches, and bridges.
De-emphasizing realistic representation, he
began to develop the reduced geometric
forms for which he is so well-known. Kelly
allowed the laws of chance to determine
colors and arrangements, after meeting
Surrealist artist Jean Arp in 1950. The exhibit
reflects Kelly's early development as one of
this country's most influential abstract artists.
The Chicago installation is curated by Mark
Pascale, Assistant Curator, Department of
Prints and Drawings, The Art Institute of
Chicago.
Sponsor: Ellsworth Kelly: The Early
Drawings, 1948-1955 is organized at the
Art Museums by Harry Cooper. The
exhibition is made possible with support from
the Alexander S. Beal, Robert L. Beal, and
Bruce A. Beal Exhibition Fund, the Douglas
Cramer Foundation, Agnes Gund and Daniel
Shapiro, the Gürel Student Exhibition Fund,
and Emily Rauh Pulitzer.
Other Venues: Ellsworth Kelly will be on
view at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta,
Georgia, June 8-August 15, 1999; at
Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur,
Switzerland, January 15-March 19, 2000;
Städtische Galarie in Lenbachhaus, Munich,
Germany, March 31-May 28, 2000;
Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, June
29-August 31, 2000.
Catalogue: An exhibition catalogue, written
by Yve-Alain Bois, is published in
conjunction with the exhibition. It includes
color reproductions of all the works in the
exhibition.
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