19 × 23.25 in
 in
 cm
Price: $15,000 USD
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Ellsworth Kelly began experimenting with two-panel painting and prints in the late 1960s. Using vivid colour fields, the print borrows its tones from nature but it is strictly abstract. Kelly used line, edge, plane, and colour to great effect, and Black/Green is an eloquent example of how the artist redefined abstraction. Refusing to bow to the usual use of colour—for representation—works like this combine figure and background, creating an immersive, transcendent experience despite a relatively small canvas and a minimalist presentation.
Pencil signed and numbered.
| Medium | Prints |
| Signature | Signed |
| Frame | Unframed |
| Condition | Excellent |
| Seller | Private |
| Location | USA |
| Provenance | Private Collection, USA |
American painter, sculptor, and printmaker Ellsworth Kelly is closely associated with hard-edge painting, Colour Field painting, and Minimalism. Known for his understated techniques, Kelly’s work emphasizes simplicity in form, creating a striking visual language rooted in abstraction.
Although now regarded as a pivotal figure in American abstraction, Kelly’s work was not always widely appreciated. Early in his career, his art often seemed disconnected from the dominant styles of the time. For instance, in his 1950 painting Seine, Kelly captured the way light fragmented on water’s surface, arranging black and white rectangles by chance. This unconventional approach challenged traditional notions of composition and paved the way for a new form of artistic freedom.
Kelly’s innovation extended to large-scale works, where he explored concepts such as seriality and monochrome painting. Throughout his career, he remained dedicated to abstraction, with his work in the late 1950s focusing on shape and planar masses. During this period, he frequently employed non-rectilinear formats, bridging earlier American geometric abstraction from the 1930s and 1940s with the emerging Minimalist and reductive art movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
His artistic process often involves distilling his palette and introducing groundbreaking forms. Kelly begins with a rectangular canvas, meticulously applying multiple coats of white paint. On top of this foundation, he places a shaped canvas, typically painted in a single vivid colour. The lines in his paintings and shaped canvases are subtle yet precise, reflecting his mastery of form and shadow. The interplay between construction and deconstruction in his work evokes a sense of perfection, transforming simplicity into something profoundly impactful.
Ellsworth Kelly’s work remains a cornerstone of modern abstraction, celebrated for its elegance, clarity, and ability to redefine the boundaries of artistic expression.
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