Untitled 1935

This is a plate by Alexander Calder, and it looks like it's come into being through a real sense of experimentation. It's a shifting, emerging, intuitive process. I’m thinking about Calder in his studio, maybe with a bunch of drawings scattered around. He's thinking about movement, balance, and how these abstract shapes can almost dance on the paper. I see simple lines and shapes, with hand-written notes. I can see the layering of the marks, the texture of the paper, and I can imagine how these contribute to the painting's emotional and intellectual resonance. Look at that looping line! It's so casual, so playful, it feels like a direct connection to his thought process. It feels like he’s mapping out the potential energy of a sculpture in motion. Calder's work feels like a conversation with other painters and sculptors, all trying to capture something essential about form, space, and the joy of creation. Painting is all about embracing ambiguity. There is not a single interpretation. Instead, there are multiple readings that open up over time.