Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder (1898–1976) is one of the most important pioneers of 20th-century kinetic art. After studying engineering in New Jersey and art at the Art Students League in New York, in the late 1920s Calder moved to Paris, where he developed his famous “mobiles” – moving sculptures, which he infused with poetic balance using physical principles. His works, whether in sculpture or on paper, are characterised by reduced forms, clear lines and dynamic colour fields.

In Untitled, 1971, Calder transferred his sculptural language to painting. With a sure sense of colour and composition, he deploys his characteristic vocabulary of forms: circular shapes in luminous orange, powerful blue and deep black stand out against the pale background and are dynamically connected by fine lines. The seemingly floating elements, combined with deliberate trails of colour, lend the work a rhythmic lightness – a central feature of Calder’s late oeuvre.

Alexander Calder is among those artists whose association with the Fondation Beyeler goes back many years. The museum has already devoted two solo shows to the artist, and he is also represented in the Collection.

During his lifetime, Calder created numerous works on paper that are now sought-after collector’s items. This sheet unites all the qualities that make Calder’s art internationally prized to this day: an iconic visual language, a masterly handling of colour and timeless modernity.

Gouache and ink on paper

77.8 × 58.4 cm

Signed and dated Calder 71 lower right 

Copyright: Calder Foundation

Courtesy: Calder Foundation

Provenance: Estate of the artist

Sandra Calder Davidson, New York, 2010

Calder Foundation, New York (since 2010, as a gift from the above)

This work is registered in the Archive of the Calder Foundation, New York, under Application Number: A03264