Orbs on Yellow and Red 1974

In ‘Orbs on Yellow and Red’, Alexander Calder takes on a flat plane with simple, bold gestures. The painting emerges as a playful experiment, a conversation between pure color and form. I can almost feel Calder's hand moving across the canvas, placing each orb with a kind of joyful precision. What was he thinking as he laid down that initial wash of yellow and red? Maybe he was aiming to capture the feeling of buoyancy. The paint looks thin, fluid. It’s as if he wanted the colors to breathe and float against each other, like musical notes bouncing off a page. The black outlines create moments of tension in the painting, making the colours pop. Calder's approach to abstraction reminds me of Miró's childlike wonder, or even Matisse's joyous use of color. Artists are always in conversation with one another, and here, he's echoing and responding to the language of modernism. It’s a reminder that painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing uncertainty and inviting endless interpretations.