Horizon 1973

Alexander Calder made this painting, Horizon, in 1973, using gouache and ink on paper. Calder's known for his mobiles, but he was also a prolific painter, and you can see that playful, improvisational spirit here. The colors are super simple – red, yellow, blue, black – and the paint is applied flatly, directly. Look at the red circle, sitting heavy on those horizon lines, with the sun bursting behind it. It gives the feeling that the artist isn't so concerned with illusionism. The black lines that swirl out from that red circle are so energetic, loose. Calder doesn't want to trick you into thinking this is real. He is creating something new. There is a similar boldness and exuberance to Matisse’s cut outs, but where Matisse is decorative, Calder is structural, always thinking about how things balance, even in a painting. Both these guys remind us that art is about having fun with the basics!