Red Panel

Ellsworth Kelly

1980

Oil on canvas

Dallas Museum of Art

"My work is really about seeing." —Ellsworth Kelly At first glance, Red Panel seems simple-a large red square. In fact, however, the corners are not each 90 degrees. As a result, the work seems to be pulled in two directions. It bends out and is intended to float on the wall as a fusion of sculpture and painting. Viewers are invited to experience the pleasure of a pure red form, strong and direct, elegant, dynamic, as if a force is acting upon it, giving it energy. Kelly's shapes are based on his observation of the world around him. "I try to see the corner of a table as it would look to me before my brain telegraphs the message "ta