ALEXANDER CALDER (1898 - 1976)

Composition abstraite, 1971 Gouache on paper, signed and dated lower right 38.5 x 28.6 cm 15 5/32 x 11 17/64 in. Alexander Calder Alexander “Sandy” Calder is an American painter and sculptor, widely recognized for his production of mobiles, so named by Marcel Duchamp, and his assemblies of forms, animated by the movements of the air. His first drawings were published in the New York press, illustrating various sporting events, urban or circus scenes. An artist of shapes and a lithographer of color, the majority of his work entangles primary colors in geometric or organic compositions. His totally abstract compositions give the illusion of a drawing drawn with a wire, as were his first works. Pioneer of kinetic art and master of modern art, he is known for the great simplicity of his combinations. A master in the art of gracefully balancing industrial and natural materials, he makes his geometric forms work with virtuosity in backgrounds left blank.