Lynn Chadwick

Description

The dynamic standing mobile Ace of Diamonds was one of the last pieces made by Lynn Chadwick before his death in 2003. Chadwick made his first mobile sculptures in 1946. Constructed from balsa wood, wire and string, the articulated components of these early pieces responded to the smallest changes in air current. Ace of Diamonds, although constructed from stainless steel and on a monumental scale, moves with equal grace in the slightest breeze, its two interlocking elements providing a seemingly limitless range of geometrical configurations in space. Chadwick's early, major mobiles were constructed in metal and were, for the most part, conceived as part of interior design projects. Chadwick's mobiles achieved both equilibrium and magnificence. In the early 1950's Chadwick developed stable constructions, parts of which were designed to pivot and Ace of Diamonds can be seen to refer to these works.

Comprised of a rotating rectangle from which a secondary rotating diamond pivots, the beveled edges and glistening stainless steel surfaces of Ace of Diamonds both reflect and absorb the nuances of changing natural light. Throughout his career, Chadwick repeatedly used geometric forms as motifs for the head of a figure, with the diamond or pyramid referring to the female and the rectangular to the male. Here, the pairing of both diamond and rectangle could refer to the interaction of male and female, both moving with controlled elegance and accord. That diamonds are often seen as a love token adds another dimension to this work.