The Meschers 1951

Curator: My first impression of this acrylic painting, "The Meschers," completed in 1951 by Ellsworth Kelly, is of pure, joyous energy. The blocks of green against the blue create a kind of visual dance. Editor: Indeed. The simplicity of the geometric patterns is striking, isn't it? But the limited palette actually encourages more focus. It's also very representative of its time. After World War II, art saw a marked shift towards abstract forms, emphasizing shapes and colors independently of any figurative representation. It mirrors a search for clarity, perhaps. Curator: Precisely! The blue, so prevalent, speaks to a universal desire for stability. Yet the sporadic bursts of green disrupt that perceived calmness, suggesting renewal and forward motion. Ellsworth Kelly wasn't interested in replicating reality. He looked instead for underlying patterns that echo the complexities of the world. I would suggest it may reflect some tension in a society transitioning out of the World War. Editor: Yes, he pulls us towards the modern world. Think of the influence of Bauhaus; Kelly took up space almost mathematically, like an architectural facade or map of urban space in post-war Europe. There are layers here, not simply of acrylic paint on canvas, but embedded with cultural shifts, like society turning a new leaf with rebuilding and innovation, turning into the modern world. Curator: So, for viewers of today, I think the symbolism in this piece translates effortlessly. Whether it be a city in a dream, or just a dance of pure form and colour, each unique person brings their history and meaning, informed by our history, to complete it. Editor: An elegant distillation of a pivotal time. It is interesting that in abstraction it represents the collective and the universal.