Crinkly Red and Black

1964
Alexander Calder, 1898-1976

Sheet metal, brass, wire, and paint, 3 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 1 1/2 in., Promised gift of Jon and Mary Shirley, photo: Nicholas Shirley, Brightwood Photos.

Calder created dozens of small sculptures, which demonstrate his intuitive sense of scale for the miniature as his public stabiles do for the monumental. The majority of the small pieces in this collection were not intended as maquettes or designs for larger sculptures, but rather as independent artworks.

Crinkly Black and Red allows for a more intimate understanding of the artist’s hand while exploring many of the shapes and ideas—such as circles, asymmetry, suspended rods, triangles, and sense of balance—seen in his larger artworks. Created at a time when Calder was achieving global renown for his large-scale public stabiles, which had to be made in industrial ironworks under the artist’s supervision, this sculpture commands the viewer’s attention with its intricate details and personal quality. For example, the rough, uneven texture of the brass wire with his carved initials highlights Calder’s use of basic hand tools with no automation. The bent geometrical base foreshadows Calder’s Crinklies of the late 1960s and early 1970s, one of which, Crinkly Crocodile, is featured in this collection.