High Yellow 1960

Ellsworth Kelly made “High Yellow” in the USA, but when, I don’t know. When I look at this painting, I imagine him wrestling with the basic elements: color, form, and space. How do you make simple shapes sing? He was probably thinking about Matisse and Miro, maybe even Mondrian. You can see him experimenting with creating visual harmony through clean lines and a tightly controlled palette. It's not just about the shapes themselves but how they interact and create tension. I can imagine Kelly, carefully layering the paint, building up those blocks of color. The yellow almost floats against the cool blue, while the green anchors everything. I wonder if he struggled with the edges of that yellow shape—how much to soften them, how much to let the brushstrokes show. It’s a very physical process, pushing paint around, stepping back, and squinting to see how it all comes together. Artists are always in conversation with each other, even across generations.