A legend of American art, Ellsworth Kelly created one of the past half-century's most lasting bodies of work by devising his own universally accessible language—an idiom of joyously colorful abstraction whose shapes are born from nature, the body, and other basic ingredients of the human experience. When he passed away earlier this month at the age of 92, he joined the pantheon of his country's indispensable painters.
Late last year, to mark the release of Phaidon's essential new monograph Ellsworth Kelly, Artspace editor-in-chief Andrew M. Goldstein visited the artist in his studio for an exclusive series of illuminating interviews about the key themes driving his work. Here, in part three of the four-part series, Kelly provides insight into the artists who provided his formative influences.
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Video: Ellsworth Kelly on How He Draws Inspiration From Nature for His Art
Video: Ellsworth Kelly on His Vivid Use of Shape and Color
Video: Ellsworth Kelly on the Pleasures of a Life in Art