Ellsworth Kelly- Collages in Black and White 1973 to 1991

James Kelly Contemporary in Santa Fe is showing Ellsworth Kelly's black and white collage work. Ellsworth Kelly's shapes are simple, remarks on positive and negative space. Removing the color element in his work, Kelly focuses on composition with one black shape of paper on white paper. Accompanying the black shape is pencil drawing. Line is used to create borders where the shapes fit completing the composition. I always look for the artists hand in hard edged work like this, finding satisfaction in any imperfections of the drawn edges. Kelly's intent may not have been for these imperfections to be a part of his conversation but irregularity is visually satisfying in these situations. Kelly was surely aware that with odd or irregular shapes, there is more potential for the composition. This show which at first appears to be colorless, and possibly less interesting work by Ellsworth Kelly finds its way into the core of his art making practice, becoming an important, unified body of work for one's interest in post painterly abstraction.