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Ellsworth Kelly's Austin

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Ellsworth Kelly's Austin

Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) was an American artist recognized for his paintings, prints and sculptures. Kelly is best known for his abstractions that distill worldly encounters into forms and colors.[i] His work is often associated with art movements including Hard-edge, Color-field, Minimalism and Post-painterly abstraction. 

Austin is the only free-standing architectural project designed by Kelly. Diverging from Kelly's other works that typically contemplate the natural world, Austin originated as an investigation into the Stations of the Cross.[ii] In its final form, Austin is a chapel-like structure that creates a space for meditation. Austin is a unique piece that allows the public to become immersed in Kelly's work and world, filled with subtleties of shape and color.

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[i] Richard Axsom, The Prints of Ellsworth Kelly: a catalogue raisonné (Portland: Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, 2012), 1:13.
[ii] Carter E. Foster, "Stations of the Cross: Black, White, Light," in Ellsworth Kelly: Black and White, ed. Ulrich Wilmes (Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2011), 34.

 

 

Find out more:

Ellsworth Kelly, Austin, 2015 (East façade)
Artist-designed building with installation of colored glass windows, black and white marble panels, and redwood totem
60 ft. x 73 ft. x 26 ft. 4 in.
©Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Photo courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin

Ellsworth Kelly, Austin, 2015 (South façade)
Artist-designed building with installation of colored glass windows, black and white marble panels, and redwood totem
60 ft. x 73 ft. x 26 ft. 4 in.
©Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Photo courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, The University
of Texas at Austin

Ellsworth Kelly, Austin, 2015 (Interior, facing west)
Artist-designed building with installation of colored glass windows, black and white marble panels, and redwood totem
60 ft. x 73 ft. x 26 ft. 4 in.
©Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Photo courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin

Ellsworth Kelly, Austin, 2015 (Interior, facing north)
Artist-designed building with installation of colored glass windows, black and white marble panels, and redwood totem
60 ft. x 73 ft. x 26 ft. 4 in.
©Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Photo courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin

How to use this Guide

Explore UT Library resources to learn more about Ellsworth Kelly. The Books and Articles pages have bibliographies to get you started with research. Explore artworks through image databases found on the Images page. The Art on Campus page lists different visual arts collections at UT Austin. 

Have Questions?

Get in touch:

Tina Tran
Art Librarian
tina.tran1@austin.utexas.edu

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