The Red Dome 1966

Alexander Calder created this beautiful abstract painting, The Red Dome, probably in the 1960s, with gouache on paper. What strikes me is how Calder lets the materials do their thing. Look at that yellow! He's flooded the background with it, allowing it to bleed and pool. He then uses black and red with the same kind of carefree attitude. It’s this directness that gives the painting its energy. The long, dark, drippy lines, like tendrils reaching across the paper, add a sense of improvisation. They create a playful tension. The way the bottom red dome bleeds into the blue of the ocean could be a subtle reference to the paintings of Helen Frankenthaler, or maybe it's just Calder being Calder. You get the feeling he wasn’t trying to make a grand statement, but rather, enjoying the simple act of putting paint to paper. And that's what makes it so enjoyable to look at.