Little Spider c. 1940

Alexander Calder, in his studio, made this hanging mobile sculpture from metal wire and painted metal plates. Imagine Calder bending and shaping the wire, carefully balancing each element so it floats, turns, and animates the space. The painted metal plates offer a subdued palette that shifts from black to grey, through to off-white, and then bursts into warm yellows, oranges and reds. The way Calder composes the space is really amazing, as he plots the position of each shape with care. It’s easy to see his work as the culmination of a life-long inquiry into movement and space. Other artists like Joan Miro were drawn to these same artistic questions. What do we make of this piece? It is a dance, maybe, or even a conversation, between line, color, and movement. I see the artist as a conductor, orchestrating a delicate and unpredictable ballet, inviting us to contemplate the beauty of instability and the art of seeing.