ACOUSTIC CEILING 1954

Alexander Calder made this architectural feature, ACOUSTIC CEILING, to live in a specific space. These floating forms remind me of a flock of birds that he has suspended in time and space. I like the idea of Calder up on a scaffold, thinking about acoustics, and working out a composition to solve a spatial problem. Maybe he felt like he was painting in the air, pushing the boundaries of his sculptural vocabulary. The maroon and ochre color palette warms the ceiling and enlivens the room. I love the feeling of suspension and movement. These shapes talk to each other – they lean towards each other. Thinking about Calder's practice, this seems a logical extension of the mobiles he is best known for. I see it as part of a wider conversation about sculpture, and its relationship to painting and architecture. His suspended sculpture reminds us that art isn't confined to the canvas or the pedestal – it can invade our spaces and change how we experience them.