Alexander Calder

Achieving a delicate formal beauty which belies its grand scale, Blue and Yellow Among Reds from 1964 comprises vibrant circular elements suspended gracefully in space. The exquisitely cascading components in this large-scale mobile extend over four meters in length yet are seemingly weightless. Communicating a sense of limitless kinetic possibility, the components shift and rotate to create infinite permutations of abstract forms in perfect equilibrium.

Calder’s exacting and simple use of color—red, blue, yellow, black, and white—is typical of his output, and adheres to his ideas about the use of color not as a means of decoration or a representation of something in the real world, but rather as a means of highlighting the differing elements within the piece so that they could more aptly form a cohesive whole.

One of the 20th century’s most innovative artists, Alexander Calder is unmatched in his ability to translate modest shapes, common materials and base colors into elegant arabesques of kinetic sculpture. Created at a particularly active period in his career, this dynamic work is a striking example of Calder’s iconic mobiles and his keen attention to scale, form, motion, and color. As Calder exclaimed, “People think monuments should come out of the ground, and never out of the ceiling, but mobiles can be monumental too.”

Even though he was born in Philadelphia and attended the Art Students League in New York City, Calder had a strong bond with Europe and its artistic sensibilities. Frequently traveling across the Atlantic and even setting up studios in France, Calder interacted with luminaries of the European avant-garde, such as Jean Arp, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian and Marcel Duchamp. Bridging the world of the visionaries he met abroad with the East Coast artist movements thriving in the United States, Calder existed in both realms, yet stayed above the fray: he was sharply individual in his methods and materials.

Grand, lively, and dynamic, Blue and Yellow Among Reds captures Calder’s spirited personality, brilliant imagination, and singular artistic output.