--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have worked to free shape from its…" description: "\"I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg" --- # I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to… ![“I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a clarity and a measure within itself of its parts (angles, curves, edges and mass); and so that, with color and tonality, the shape finds its own…” quote by Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg) > “I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a clarity and a measure within itself of its parts (angles, curves, edges and mass); and so that, with color and tonality, the shape finds its own space and always demands its freedom and separateness.” [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist seeks to liberate form, giving it clear relationships, proportions, and color so it occupies its own distinct space. **In simple terms:** Free shape with clear relationships and color. Key Takeaway Design with intentional proportion and space. Themes art design form space color Mood contemplative analytical Type descriptive inspirational When to use this quote - architectural planning - product design - graphic layout - interior decoration - sculpture Key Concepts visual composition proportion autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does freeing shape affect viewer perception? - When is strict proportion more valuable than fluidity? A Different Perspective May limit expressive spontaneity in favor of formal order. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Separateness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separateness/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [“Every human being has both sets of forces within him. One set clings to safety and defensiveness out of fear, tending to regress backward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-harold-maslow/every-human-being-has-both-sets-of-forces-within-him-one-set-clings/) [Abraham Harold Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-harold-maslow/) > [I sometimes don't try to invent something. I wait for some kind of a direction - and it happens. I get an angle, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-sometimes-don-t-try-to-invent-something-i-wait-for-some-kind-of-a/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The best things and best people rise out of their separateness; I'm against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-best-things-and-best-people-rise-out-of-their-separateness-i-m/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It is not that things are delusory but their separateness in the fabric of the Whole that is illusory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/it-is-not-that-things-are-delusory-but-their-separateness-in-the/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [The root of compassion is not empathy; that is kindness. Kindness is great, but it is not the ultimate compassion. Ultimate compassion relieves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/the-root-of-compassion-is-not-empathy-that-is-kindness-kindness-is/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/in-the-first-movement-our-infancy-as-a-species-we-felt-no-separation/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Anything that takes you out of the context of being separate is healing. Anything that takes you out of the context of separateness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/anything-that-takes-you-out-of-the-context-of-being-separate-is/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-an-active-power-in-man-a-power-which-breaks-through-the-walls/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Surrender — the letting go of mental-emotional resistance to what is — also becomes a portal into the Unmanifested. The reason for this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/surrender-the-letting-go-of-mental-emotional-resistance-to-what-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Good is that which makes for unity. Evil is that which makes for separateness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/good-is-that-which-makes-for-unity-evil-is-that-which-makes-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Everything is connected and exists only one Separateness that is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/everything-is-connected-and-exists-only-one-separateness-that-is-an/) Senoraroy > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) ## More by Ellsworth Kelly > [I don't like acrylic because you can't get the density of color. And with each coat of oil paint, the surface gets better and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-don-t-like-acrylic-because-you-can-t-get-the-density-of-color-and/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-comes-from-perceiving-i-kept-seeing-things-that-were/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [Time has always been very important in my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/time-has-always-been-very-important-in-my-work/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [My ideas I can find anywhere. And I draw because I have to note down my ideas or flashes - I call them flashes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/my-ideas-i-can-find-anywhere-and-i-draw-because-i-have-to-note-down/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The paintings to me are always canvas; sculpture has always been metal, though I have made sculpture in wood, also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-paintings-to-me-are-always-canvas-sculpture-has-always-been-metal/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The negative is just as important as the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-negative-is-just-as-important-as-the-positive/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I'm not interested in edges. I'm interested in the mass and color, the black and white. The edges happen because the forms get as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-m-not-interested-in-edges-i-m-interested-in-the-mass-and-color-the/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The form of my painting is the content. My work is made of single or multiple panels: rectangle, curved, or square. I am less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-form-of-my-painting-is-the-content-my-work-is-made-of-single-or/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I only like artists older than myself. Time is so important. It's always been the same way, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-only-like-artists-older-than-myself-time-is-so-important-it-s/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/matisse-draws-what-i-call-the-essence-of-the-plants-he-leaves-a-shape/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [All my work begins with drawings. I don’t labor over my drawings. I want to get freedom in the line. I like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-begins-with-drawings-i-don-t-labor-over-my-drawings-i/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I was taught to draw very well when I was in school at Boston. And I grew to enjoy drawing so much that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-was-taught-to-draw-very-well-when-i-was-in-school-at-boston-and-i/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I just feel like I can live on. I hope I can reach 100. I think today if you just keep doing, keep working,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-just-feel-like-i-can-live-on-i-hope-i-can-reach-100-i-think-today/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I felt that everything is beautiful, but that which man tries intentionally to make beautiful; that the work of an ordinary bricklayer is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-felt-that-everything-is-beautiful-but-that-which-man-tries/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I believe people have to be open to what's happening when they're alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-believe-people-have-to-be-open-to-what-s-happening-when-they-re/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) [Explore all 55 Ellsworth Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) Psixaristw > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. 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Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) Browse all 645 Angle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a clarity and a measure within itself of its parts (angles, curves, edges and mass); and so that, with color and tonality, the shape finds its own space and always demands its freedom and separateness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellsworth Kelly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-ground-and-then-to-work-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-ground-and-then-to-work-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/ellsworth-kelly-12449_angle_i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-gro_260243.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite…” — Ellsworth Kelly", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ellsworth Kelly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have worked to free shape...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-ground-and-then-to-work-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-ground-and-then-to-work-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```