Mauve with Black Wishbone 1962

Alexander Calder created this untitled work, "Mauve with Black Wishbone" in 1962 using ink and gouache on paper. At first glance, a playfulness emerges from the composition of biomorphic and geometric shapes in black, mauve, and red against a pale ground. The painting's structure reveals Calder's engagement with surrealism and abstraction. Notice how the black 'wishbone' and amorphous blots, contrast with the clean lines and solid fields of red. These elements work to create an internal tension. The wishbone, a sign of luck, is destabilized by the unanchored blots. They suggest an underlying ambiguity. Consider how Calder uses color and form to disrupt conventional perspective and spatial relationships. The solid red bar on the right edge flattens the picture plane. This challenges our perception by creating a tension between depth and surface. Calder invites us to question fixed meanings, and to see art as a dynamic interplay of forms and ideas.