Ellsworth Kelly Red Curves, 1996

Artwork Info

Artwork title
Red Curves
Artist name
Ellsworth Kelly
Date created
1996
Classification
painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
142 × 65 1/2 in. (360.7 × 166.4 cm)
Credit
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Photo credit
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Copyright
© Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
Permanent URL
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.603
Artwork status
On view on Floor 5 as part of Calder, Kelly, LeWitt: Fundamentals of Form

Audio Stories

What shapes do you see in this painting?

Show TranscriptHide Transcript

transcripts

SFX: Music to give a sense of thoughts — like pinpoints — coming and going. The following voices are a collage, sometimes overlapping, sometimes fading up, sometimes cutting off the previous comment.  

 

MAN 1: It looks like the cross section of a distant planet …

 

MAN 2: … a beautiful slice of red mango …  

 

WOMAN 1: It’s a wound. It’s cut open, and it’s harsh and sharp.

 

SARAH ROBERTS: We all have that experience of something you saw as a child that you’ll never forget or an image that just stays with you forever. 

  

NARRATOR: Curator Sarah Roberts

 

ROBERTS: And he’s finding ways to pull those out of his mind and give them a physical presence in the world. 

 

WOMAN 2: … A little red Corvette. This kind of really bright color and this kind of really voluptuous curve …

 

SFX: The sound of a sports car engine 

 

WOMAN 3: Something like sticking out of a pocket, I don’t know.  

 

WOMAN 2: Or the curve of a hip.  

 

MAN 2: A cartoon candle flame.  

 

SFX: A match being lit 

 

WOMAN 4: … discarded piece of your fingernail on the floor … 

 

WOMAN 2: It makes me think of melted crayons …

 

MAN 1: The wind and a spinnaker sail on a sailboat. It seems to be moving out and away.  

 

SFX: Wind and sea birds. Music fades. 

Read MoreCollapse

Español

普通话

Other Works by Ellsworth Kelly

See other works by Ellsworth Kelly

Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times.

Only a portion of SFMOMA's collection is currently online, and the information presented here is subject to revision. Please contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to verify collection holdings and artwork information. If you are interested in receiving a high resolution image of an artwork for educational, scholarly, or publication purposes, please contact us at copyright@sfmoma.org.

This resource is for educational use and its contents may not be reproduced without permission. Please review our Terms of Use for more information.