Thursday, February 4, 2010

Norton Simon Museum to exhibit Ellsworth Kelly's botanical lithographs

The Norton Simon Museum presents an exhibition of twenty lithographs of botanical subjects by American artist Ellsworth Kelly (b. 1923).

Though Kelly is best known for his large-scale, color field paintings, Plants, Flowers and Fruits showcases his equally compelling efforts in the print medium. Executed on paper like a drawing and then transferred to a lithography stone, these prints present simple black lines that delineate pears, cyclamen and magnolia petals, among other subjects. All of the specimens have been enlarged to allow for close scrutiny, but the artist has depicted them without any distracting scientific details.

Part botanical renderings, part abstract drawings, Kelly's simplified, confident depictions of plants reflect how strongly the artist's minimalism is rooted in the natural world.

www.nortonsimon.org

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