ALEXANDER CALDER | WOOD WORMS

Among the leading artists of the 20th century, Alexander Calder achieved inimitable playfulness, wit and grace across a variety of media. He continues to be best known for his ‘mobiles’, innovative sculptures to which he introduced the element of time. More recently, however, Calder’s works on paper have undergone a reexamination in relation to his oeuvre. Some of his drawings were sketches for his ‘mobiles’, while others were standalone works, as in the case of Wood Worms. The title of the present work humorously suggests the presence of ‘wormholes’ in a slab of wood. Yet, Calder’s employment of just black and red decontextualizes this seemingly mundane observation and places it within his singular use of form and color.