Untitled

One of Alexander Calder's celebrated standing mobiles, Untitled is distinguished by the elegant dark serpentine form that supports an assortment of striking, colorful elements. The artist was heavily influenced by Miró and Duchamp, and the Surrealist and Dada influence can be seen throughout Calder's stabile: the mobile's form itself is governed by chance encounters of wind and movement, while its softly bent cantilever resembles one of his organic, found objects. Composing these delicate configurations was a process that took time and consideration, and using his skills as an engineer (Calder graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering), the artist managed to combine a number of complex visual and mechanical arrangements into an object that radiates with aesthetic and technical virtuosity. 'In his use of polychrome, his preference for industrial materials, his commitment to an abstract format, and his inventive disposition of works in public places, Calder contributed importantly to American sculpture after 1960. He also continues to be universally admired for joining childhood play with art, and for setting new parameters for the definition of sculpture' (J.M. Marter, Alexander Calder, Cambridge, 1991, p. 231).