Ellsworth Kelly: Paint for the future, not the market

Mark Rappolt chatted with Ellsworth Kelly about contemporary painting at Art Basel last week. “How does the man inspired by the past feel about exhibiting alongside the stars of today? ‘Art has changed so much over the past 10 or 15 years,’ Kelly says. ‘Young people are making it in a different way. They�re doing work that has changed the way you look at pictures � installation work. It�s different from looking at Soutine. That�s more my style. I�ve known those paintings all my life. If I see a C�zanne painting, even the same one several times, I see it differently every time.’ Kelly is diplomatic, yet it�s clear that he doesn�t completely approve of their art. ‘I�m not so sure that young painters are thinking about permanence,’ he says. ‘They�re thinking of something more fashionable, that�s part of the style right now. But you want your pictures to be part of the future.’ ” Read more.