Although Kelly’s paintings and sculptures are often considered purely abstract, all of his artworks originate in real subjects he observed in person. A moment of inspiration could come from the built environment, nature, or the human body, references to which “abound in Kelly’s imagery, though concealed by geometricization,” as John Coplans observed.

In this rare figurative drawing, Kelly depicts a man and a woman from the waist down. Both clad in swimsuits, the subjects have been reduced to graceful geometric shapes. The rounded forms of later works such as Untitled (1988) and Blue Curves (2014) evoke the same gentle curves.