For its debut at TEFAF, Simon Lee Gallery is proud to present works by Alexander Calder (1898–1976), Willem de Kooning (1904–1997), Joan Miró (1893–1983) and Cy Twombly (1928–2011). Spanning nearly fifty years of his career, from the early ‘dream’ paintings to vibrant, late abstractions, Miró is exhibited in dialogue with Willem de Kooning, who is represented by the joyous 1964 painting, Woman in Rowboat. Painted the year after he moved permanently to East Hampton, the work reflects, in part, on the influence of his native Holland on his practice. In counterpoint to de Kooning – a Dutch artist who settled in the US – the booth also highlights two giants of American art known for their lyrical compositions in two and three dimensions, both of whom spent lengthy periods of time in Europe. Alexander Calder’s mobile sculptures rotate gently in space, set in motion by the slightest movement about them. The three works on view combine mobile elements with a stabile base, uniting two tenets of the artist’s practice. With its dramatic arcs of primary colour and pastel scrawls, Cy Twombly’s untitled diptych (1981-1982) replicates this sense of movement, encapsulating the calligraphic rhythm of the artist’s confident gestures. A selection of works on paper and paintings from across his career highlights the enduring significance of the artist, whose oeuvre – like Calder’s – acts as a bridge between European and American abstraction.
