Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance VI 1951

Ellsworth Kelly created ‘Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance VI’ using screenprint. Although this piece lacks explicit social or political commentary, it emerged during a period of significant cultural and artistic change. Kelly’s process of randomly assigning colors to a grid removes the artist’s subjective decision-making. This challenges traditional notions of artistic expression. The element of chance introduces an interesting commentary on authorship, and control in art. The flat, uniformly colored squares recall the increasing mechanization of art and the burgeoning digital age, prompting us to consider the impact of technology on human creativity. Kelly said: "I am not anti-expression. But expression has become arbitrary. It has to be based on discipline." While abstract, this work reflects a moment when artists were grappling with how to represent a rapidly changing world. It asks viewers to consider the interplay between order and randomness, intention and chance.