Untitled c. 1940s

This untitled piece by Alexander Calder, made with gouache and ink on paper, feels like it came into being through a dance. I see him working and reworking, letting shapes emerge from a yellow ground. The black forms seem to float and jostle in the picture plane, linked by the spiral’s energy. I can almost feel Calder’s hand as he makes those marks, improvising as he goes. The process reminds me of my own, where each move is a response to what’s already there. There’s a playful, almost childlike quality here. The red dot, the blue swoop, the ladder-like structure – these simple forms combine to create a world that feels both chaotic and harmonious. Calder was, of course, deeply involved in surrealism, which he brings to life through these surreal pictograms. I’m reminded that art is really an ongoing conversation. From Miro to Picasso, artists build on each other’s ideas, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.