BUGS AND FLOWER 1953

Alexander Calder made this painting called Bugs and Flower with ink and watercolor. Imagine his arm moving across the paper, the push and pull of the brush, the give and take between control and chance. The red bleeds like memory, and the bugs and flower seem to emerge from it, kind of creepy and cute. The black lines are so lively, dancing and wiggling across the page. I wonder if Calder was thinking about Miro when he made this? Miro was famous for his biomorphic shapes and playful compositions, and I can see some of that influence here. There’s a sense of joy and spontaneity, like Calder was just letting his imagination run wild. In a way, it is a conversation with artists across time, an exchange of ideas and inspiration. Painting is about embracing ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations and possibilities.