Galactic System 1974

Alexander Calder made *Galactic System* with gouache and felt-tip pen on paper. It's a dynamic interplay of vibrant forms and lines. Imagine Calder, pen in hand, coaxing these shapes into existence, one after the other. I love the way those black lines loop and dance around the coloured shapes. They are like planets in motion, each with its own gravitational pull. What was he thinking as he laid down those bright hues? The juicy blues, oranges, and yellows pulse with life. The colours are flat and boldly graphic, but they also evoke a sense of depth and movement, like a cosmos contained within the frame. It reminds me a little of Miró and Kandinsky too – they were all trying to capture something of the unseen world. Ultimately, this is Calder playing with abstraction, not to obscure, but to suggest, to invite us to consider the endless possibilities of form and color.