Ellsworth Kelly: Red Green Blue is the first exhibition to focus on a pivotal body of work from the years 1958 to 1965 through which Ellsworth Kelly established his reputation as one of the most important American abstract artists of the postwar period. Bringing together fourteen major paintings and thirty-five related drawings, collages, and photographs, Red Green Blue illuminates the processes by which Kelly distills his lines, forms, and colors from real-world sources. The project examines a selection of grand, powerful "figure/ground" paintings-rectangular canvases consisting of simple forms in one or two colors against a third "ground" color. The heart of the project is a group of large-scale paintings widely acknowledged as masterpieces-including MCASD's Red Blue Green-that employ precisely balanced shapes as well as the harmonies and clashes between the colors red, green, and blue, to create a bold and dynamic compositional balance. With these virtuoso works, Kelly defined the interests and approaches that still drive his work today.

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring essays by exhibition curator Toby Kamps, critic Dave Hickey, and scholars Roberta Bernstein and Sarah K. Rich, and an introduction by MCASD director Hugh Davies.

Ellsworth Kelly: Red Green Blue is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The exhibition's national sponsoris ResMed, Inc. Major support has been provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and Dr. Mary and Dr. James Berglund. Additional funding comes from The James Irvine Foundation, the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the California Arts Council, Mason and Elizabeth Phelps, Barbara and Charles Arledge, and Robert L. Shapiro.