{"product_id":"lucioles-by-alexander-calder","title":"Lucioles by Alexander Calder","description":"Alexander Calder\u003cbr\u003e 1898–1976 | American \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eLucioles\u003cbr\u003e (Fireflies)\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Signed and dated “Calder 72” (lower right)\u003cbr\u003e Gouache and ink on paper \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Few artists defined the visual language of modern abstraction as decisively as Alexander Calder. Much like his revolutionary mobiles and stabiles, Calder brought the same sense of movement, balance and playful invention to his works on paper. \u003cem\u003eLucioles\u003c\/em\u003e, executed in 1972, belongs to the final decade of the artist’s career, when his compositions achieved a remarkable clarity of form and confidence of color. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In these late works, Calder distilled his visual vocabulary to its most essential elements, creating compositions that are at once bold, rhythmic and immediately captivating. Thick black contours structure the composition, dividing the surface into a dynamic arrangement of geometric forms—triangles, circles and spirals—that appear to pulse across the picture plane. Within these compartments, saturated primary colors are deployed with striking intensity. The circular motifs recall the kinetic qualities of Calder’s famed sculptures. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Like his his larger-than-life revolutionary mobiles, Calder’s works on paper were fully realized compositions that stand independently within his oeuvre. Throughout his career, he maintained a deep commitment to drawing, using it as a means of exploring the same formal concerns that defined his sculpture: balance, movement and spatial tension. By the 1970s, his style had become at once rigorous and playful, abstract yet deeply engaging. Works from this period are held in major institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dated 1972 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Paper: 29 1\/4\" high x 43\" wide (74.3 x 109.2 cm)\u003cbr\u003e Frame: 32 3\/4\" high x 46 1\/4\" wide x 2\" deep (83.2 x 117.5 x 5.1 cm) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e Private collection, New York\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans\u003cbr\u003e Private collection, New York\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44439706009735,"sku":"32-2428","price":398500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0083\/2471\/0466\/files\/32-2428_1.png?v=1775856216","url":"https:\/\/rauantiques.com\/products\/lucioles-by-alexander-calder","provider":"M.S. Rau","version":"1.0","type":"link"}