VERTICAL FOLIAGE 1941

Alexander Calder, working at a time when art began to break free from the constraints of traditional representation, offers us Vertical Foliage. With wire and painted metal, this mobile embodies a sense of lightness and freedom. Calder’s mobiles are often seen as joyful and playful, but let’s think about them in a broader context. After enduring the world wars and experiencing profound social change, many artists sought to challenge traditional forms and explore new ways of expressing human experience. Calder, influenced by the abstract art of figures like Mondrian and Miró, took these ideas into three dimensions, freeing sculpture from its static, earthbound existence. The gentle movement of this mobile invites us to contemplate the interconnectedness of things. Just as each element of the sculpture depends on the others for balance, so too do we rely on one another in society. Calder’s work becomes a metaphor for the complexities of human relationships.