Blue Form on Yellow 1962

Ellsworth Kelly made this "Blue Form on Yellow," and you can see he's really into simple shapes and colors, kinda like a visual haiku. The yellow background looks like it's been layered; you can see this sort of ghost shape that sits underneath the top layer, like the remnants of a drawing that's been partially erased, or a colour block that's been covered up. The blue form, that kind of stretched-out lozenge shape, looks like it's floating on top. I love how these colours vibrate against each other. It's such a direct, uncomplicated statement. It makes me think of Matisse's cut-outs; so simple, but full of unexpected compositional complexity and visual effect. Art is just one big conversation across time, isn't it? "Blue Form on Yellow" proves that less really can be more, and it's a great reminder that art doesn't always need to shout to be heard.