The Meeting 1968

Alexander Calder made this playful ink drawing of two figures in 1968. The boldness of the black lines and the simplicity of the shapes make it feel immediate, like a doodle that just sprang to life. I love the way Calder isn't trying to be too precious, you can almost feel him having fun with the materials. The figure on the left has this intense red body, in contrast to the graphic black and white head with those mesmerizing spiral eyes, so bold, and the figure on the right is all stripes and elegant curves. The way Calder uses line is so direct. It reminds me that art doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be alive. Calder was known for his mobiles, and you can see that same sense of balance and movement in his drawings, which have the immediacy of Matisse's line drawings. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas.