Ellsworth Kelly panels returning to view at Indianapolis Museum of Art
From the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art comes Maximum Color, Minimal Form: The Panels of Ellsworth Kelly. Kelly, a pioneer of hard-edge abstraction in the postwar period, brought a refreshing take on contemporary art and how to consider shape and space. These works, acquired by the IMA in 1995 and 1996, were last on display in 2019.
Inspired by both the natural and constructed environments around him, Kelly’s techniques helped mold the trajectory of postwar American art. In his career, spanning seven decades, he sought to distill the visual experience down to its purest elements: color and shape.
“Ellsworth Kelly’s work is both historically impactful and a crowd favorite,” Sarah Trew, Curatorial Assistant, said. “As individuals move through the exhibition, they might consider the shapes and colors that dominate their everyday lives and how Kelly presents this in its simplest form to prompt spatial harmony.”
In the 50th anniversary of the acquisition of Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture, this exhibition recalls the close relationship between Kelly and Indiana. Kelly’s persistence to use pure color and form became inspiration for Indiana’s iconic piece that now stands in the Pulliam Family Great Hall as a signature piece of the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s permanent collection.
Newfields, the umbrella institution covering the Indianapolis Museum of Art, will celebrate the opening of Maximum Color, Minimal Form along with other new exhibitions at Artful Party: Summer on Friday, June 27 from 8-10 p.m. Dress to impress in your summer best and enjoy an evening of music, mingling and curated experiences. Dance to sets by local DJs, sip on seasonal cocktails inspired by each exhibition and indulge in artfully paired hors d’oeuvres.
Maximum Color, Minimal Form: The Panels of Ellsworth Kelly will be open in the Damon C. and Kay D. Davis Lab from Friday, June 13 until Tuesday, January 26, 2026. The exhibition is curated by Sarah Trew, Newfields Curatorial Assistant.
About Newfields
Newfields offers dynamic experiences with art and nature for guests of all ages. The 152-acre cultural campus features art galleries, lush gardens, a historic home, performance spaces, a nature preserve and sculpture park. From inspiring exhibitions in the IMA Galleries, to concerts in The Tobias Theater, to a stroll through The Garden with a glass of something cold, guests are invited to interact with art and nature in exciting new ways.
Newfields is home to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, among the ten largest and ten oldest general art museums in the nation; the Lilly House, a National Historic Landmark; The Garden, featuring 40 acres of contemporary and historic gardens, a working greenhouse and an orchard; and The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, one of the largest art and nature parks in the country. The Newfields campus extends outside of Indianapolis with Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Ind.—one of the nation’s most highly regarded examples of mid-century Modernist architecture.
For more information, visit DiscoverNewfields.org.
