José de Rivera’s beautifully lyric sense of form, often referred to as line drawing in space, is in full glory in this untitled work from 1953. Three dimensional by nature, sculpture is meant to be seen in the round, however there is a surprising element of involuntary change as this form rotates, via a motor de Rivera modified to turn ever so slowly, completing a full rotation in just over a minute-and-a-half. Untitled’s composition, melting as it twists away, lengthening and shortening, alternating red to black, black to red, changes with every glance. The white platform sets the sculpture apart from the base, visually levitating it and adding an element of interplay and intersection of form, creating a horizontal abstract shape countering the verticality of the piece as a whole. The polished aluminum edge accentuates the delineation between black and red and sharpens the form. Like Alexander Calder’s mobiles and stabiles, de Rivera was eloquently experimenting with color, playfulness of form, and pierced air and space in a modern and contemporary way, and like fellow sculptor Pol Bury, he often relied on hidden motors to add an extra element to heighten our interaction with his work.