Cyclamen V 1964 - 1965

Ellsworth Kelly made this work of art with paper and ink and named it Cyclamen V. Oh, to be a line, so free to move and flow. I love the apparent simplicity and the way line alone can define the shapes and forms of nature! I imagine Kelly standing before the cyclamen, just observing, stripping away the excess, and distilling its essence into these elegant marks. I wonder what it was like to create this artwork. What was Kelly thinking, feeling, and seeing as he drew? The economy of line, the way each stroke is so deliberate and confident, tells me that this isn't just about representation but about capturing the very spirit of the flower. He's got that line that just trails off, and, like, fades. It's so delicate, yet it holds the whole thing together. For me, it connects to other works of Kelly, and artists such as Matisse, who use line in their work. Isn’t it amazing how artists throughout time have been in this ongoing conversation, each inspiring the other to see and create in new ways?