White Relief over White
Ellsworth Kelly
American, 1923–2015
2003
Ellsworth Kelly’s White Relief over White is a large two-panel oil on canvas that turns painting into a subtle sculptural object by overlapping and beveling curved white surfaces to make form from edge and shadow.
At first glance it reads as a refined, architectural white plane interrupted by a precise quarter‑circle fold whose soft gray shadows and crisp edge make light, not color, the defining element.
The work encapsulates Kelly’s late-career project of collapsing painting and sculpture—advancing Minimalist ideas about pure form, shaped canvas, and how perception is shaped by edge and light.
Medium
Oil on canvas, two panels
Dimensions
10' x 70 1/8" x 7 1/8" (304.8 x 178.1 x 18.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr.
Accession
250.2003
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
