St. Louis, MO -- The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts is pleased to announce the first reinstallation of two of its galleries with Selected Works by Ellsworth Kelly from Saint Louis Collections. The installation is being curated by the artist and offers a focused view of his artistic evolution over a fifty year period. The selected works range from reliefs from his early years in Paris in 1950 through a new wall sculpture, Blue Black, 2001, a 28' piece commissioned for the Foundation and located on the south wall of the main gallery. "It will be very interesting to have a broad selection of Kelly's work on view from different St. Louis collections," states Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Foundation President. "It will be an opportunity to see the richness of Kelly's work that is here in the city." This is the inaugural loan exhibition in the Foundation's new building designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. It will open to the public on April 27, 2002 and close on October 26, 2002.

The installation draws upon an already strong connection between Ellsworth Kelly and the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. At an early stage in the process of designing and constructing the Ando building, Pulitzer commissioned Kelly to create a work of art for the Foundation's building. She felt that Ellsworth Kelly and Tadao Ando share a similar aesthetic. Each uses space and the perception of it as a primary element in his work. Both continually challenge the viewer to consider the relationship between space, objects and experience. Laurie A. Stein, Foundation Director, hopes that "the installation of Kelly's works in the Ando architecture will encourage visitors to experience the art and its interrelationship with the space of the building in a new way."

The concept of the installation also derives from the longstanding connection between Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Ellsworth Kelly. Kelly explains, "My relationship with Emily Rauh Pulitzer goes back to an exhibition of my sculpture which she organized as a curator in collaboration with Patterson Sims for the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1982. The friendship that resulted with her and her husband Joe has endured throughout the years--covering almost half of the period of the work included in this exhibition." The sculpture exhibition was also shown at the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1983.

In the upcoming installation at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the lenders - including Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Ebsworth, Bank of America, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald K. Greenberg and Donald L. Bryant, Jr. Family Trust, among others - testify to the strength of the bond that exists between the artist and the Saint Louis community. Furthermore, Selected Works by Ellsworth Kelly from Saint Louis Collections complements another exhibition, Henri Matisse/Ellsworth Kelly: Plant Drawings, organized by the Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou in Paris and opening at the Saint Louis Art Museum on April 27, 2002.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts seeks to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of art and architecture. Through works of art, programs, library facility and collaboration with other cultural and educational institutions, the Foundation serves artists, architects, scholars, students and the general public. Integral to the Foundation's mission is the experience of its building, which provides a tranquil place for contemplation, enjoyment and study.

During the installation of the galleries on April 20th and April 24th, the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts will be closed. Resuming April 27, 2002, the Foundation is open Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information on docent tours, call 314-535-0770; for group visits of 5 or more, call 314-754-1848. For more information about the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts visit www.pulitzerarts.org.