Annular Eclipse – Wall (study) (c. 1995) is composed of two concentric stainless-steel rings, both independently mobile, so that the apparent stability of the circular form is continually unsettled by their shifting alignment. As the two elements move in relation to one another, they generate changing intervals, overlaps and reflections. Rickey’s approach to ordering movement and constructing the potential trajectories of his sculptural elements reflected his preoccupation with capturing the invisible forces of physics governing the natural world. Here, the two moving circles evoke the alignment of sun and moon during an annular eclipse, connecting Rickey’s precisely calibrated kinetic structures to larger natural and cosmic systems of motion. Another version of this composition, Annular Eclipse VII (2000), is held in the collection of the Vero Beach Museum of Art, Florida.

George Rickey (1907–2002) was one of the leading figures in twentieth-century kinetic sculpture. Born in South Bend, Indiana, and raised partly in Scotland, he first trained as a painter before turning to sculpture after the Second World War. From the 1950s onward, he became known for works made from carefully balanced metal elements that move in response to air, gravity and changes in the surrounding environment. His sculptures combine precise engineering with simple geometric forms and constant movement. Rickey exhibited widely in the United States and Europe, with major solo exhibitions at institutions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Nationalgalerie, Berlin. His work is held in more than 150 museum collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; National Galleries of Scotland; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; and Kunstmuseum Bern.