In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hard-Edge painting became an important link between Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, rejecting Abstract Expressionism’s expressive gestures and thick paint but retaining its allover approach with no foreground or background, qualities that would prove influential to Minimalism. Kelly was one of the leaders of this movement, creating work that explored interactions of shape and color. In Yellow Blue, the bright primary colors seem to compete for space within the rectangular frame, just as the rounded shape seems to be expanding across the canvas. The sharp lines that separate colors and Kelly’s use of geometric shapes anticipate the exacting nature of Minimalism.
