Les Yeux et l’Oreille 1969

Alexander Calder made ‘Les Yeux et l’Oreille’ with, what looks like, gouache and ink, and it’s a super interesting example of his exploration of abstraction. The painting is mostly black and white, except for this swooping, bright red shape, which adds a jolt of energy. Calder's lines are bold and kind of wobbly, which gives it a handmade, imperfect feel. Like he’s thinking through the image as he makes it. Look at the way the black stripes radiate out from the spirals - it’s almost dizzying, right? But there's also this playfulness, especially in the squiggly lines at the bottom. It reminds me a little of Joan Miró's biomorphic shapes and surreal compositions. Calder is really great at creating a sense of movement and balance, and there's a graphic quality that is super dynamic. In a way, all painting is about capturing time and freezing it, but, for me, this one embraces the spontaneous gesture. It's like a visual poem, open to interpretation.