Dimensions: overall: 46.04 × 51.44 × 44.45 cm (18 1/8 × 20 1/4 × 17 1/2 in.)
Copyright: National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0
This is Alexander Calder’s "Maquette for 'Deux Discs I'," and it's made from painted metal. You can almost feel the weight of it, right? I love how Calder manages to make something so solid feel like it's about to take off. Look at the stark black of the metal, the edges are so clearly cut, like decisive lines in a drawing. The discs, big and small, balance against those sharp, wing-like shapes, creating a tension, a conversation. It's like he's caught a moment of potential energy, a pause before movement. I’m reminded of Joan Miró and his playful, almost childlike forms. There’s a similar sense of wonder and a desire to animate the inanimate, to give shape to pure joy. For me, art is all about that, turning the ordinary into something extraordinary, like a visual poem that never quite settles on one meaning.
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