Obus 1972

Alexander Calder made this painted sheet metal sculpture, Obus, and who knows exactly when, but isn't it fabulous? The way he coaxes flat planes into a playful dance of forms and colours – it’s like he’s sketching in space. There's something so immediate about how Calder works the metal. The surfaces are smooth, but you can still sense the hand of the artist in the way the shapes are cut and joined. Take that blue section, for example, with the kidney bean-shaped hole. The colour feels both solid and airy, creating a tension that really animates the whole piece. It feels like something has been removed, or erased. Calder reminds me of Joan Miró, both experimenting with biomorphic shapes. But where Miró captures a dreamlike quality, Calder is all about bringing a sense of lightness and joy to sculpture. Obus is a wonderful demonstration of how art can be both serious and playful.