Alexander CalderSans titre
1968
Gouache and ink on paper
signed and dated lower left, CA 68
19.69 x 25.98 in ( 50 x 66 cm )

Zoom

Inquiry - Sans titre, 1968

In 1968, Alexander Calder created this gouache in his studio in Saché, near Tours, where he had settled in 1953. This work, using gouache and ink, is distinguished by a palette of black, blue, red, and orange. Like all his gouaches, it reflects the spontaneity and simplicity that characterize Calder's work.

The pieces created by Calder in Saché, where he founded "La Gouacherie" after moving there, are imbued with a minimalist poetry. This poetry emerges from stripped-down means: elemental symbols, basic figures, and a palette of primary colors. Calder's gouaches directly echo his mobiles and stabiles. Although movement is physically absent from his gouaches, it is nonetheless suggested and imagined, introducing a temporal dimension frozen in space. This is how Calder captures a moment of movement in a static form.

The 1968 work is no exception. Through planes of black, blue, red, and orange, Calder manages to convey a sense of balance and fluidity.

Alexander Calder, nicknamed "Sandy," was an American sculptor and painter born on July 22, 1898, in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, and passed away on November 11, 1976, in New York City. He is best known for his mobiles, his stabiles and his vividly colored gouaches.

Coming from a family of artists, Calder was the son of painter Nanette Lederer Calder and sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder. After obtaining a degree in mechanical engineering in 1919 from the Stevens Institute of Technology, he quickly turned to art. In 1923, he joined the Art Students League of New York, where he began creating works influenced by renowned artists.
In 1926, Calder moved to Paris, where he created articulated toys and his famous "Calder's Circus," a miniature performance made of wire and fabric. This circus, presented in Paris and Berlin, reflected his fascination with movement and performance.
Influenced by avant-garde artists such as Joan Miró and Piet Mondrian, Calder began creating abstract sculptures in 1930. In 1932, during an exhibition in Paris, Marcel Duchamp suggested the term "mobiles" to describe his moving works. That same year, Calder joined the Abstraction-Création group.
Facing the rise of fascism, Calder returned to the United States in 1933. Rejected by the army, he helped obtain visas for exiled European artists and joined France Forever, a support group for the French Resistance.
After the war, Calder gained international recognition. In 1943, the Museum of Modern Art organized a retrospective of his work. In 1953, Calder settled in Saché, near Tours, where he founded "La Gouacherie." This place became his main studio until 1976, during which he created numerous works on paper as well as his famous mobiles and stabiles.
Calder created approximately 130 monumental works, often in collaboration with the Biémont establishments in Tours. He also worked on projects such as customizing cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and decorating airplanes for Braniff International.
Calder passed away in 1976 in New York City, on the day of the opening of his retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His work continues to be celebrated through international exhibitions, such as the 2018 exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, highlighting his creative genius and innovation in kinetic art.