Untitled 1988

This vertical sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly is deceptively simple in its dark, monolithic presence. Yet, within its form lies a resonance with ancient symbols of standing stones and menhirs—markers that punctuate the landscape, imbued with ritualistic and commemorative significance. Consider the obelisks of ancient Egypt, those soaring, slender forms dedicated to sun gods and pharaohs. They too, were erected to bridge the earthly and the divine, much like this sculpture, which seems to reach for the heavens. The curve, a subtle departure from the strict geometry of the obelisk, introduces an element of organic growth. This blending of the natural and the constructed invites us to see the sculpture not merely as an abstract form, but as a modern echo of primal gestures, a testament to humanity's enduring need to mark its place in the cosmos. This desire, deeply embedded in our collective memory, continues to manifest in forms that, while evolving, retain a connection to our earliest impulses.