Alexander Calder
(1898–)
(–1976)
Alexander Calder
1898–1976
Alexander Calder (1898–1976) was an American artist whose practice most notably includes mobile kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents, wire sculptures, jewelry, and outdoor public artworks.
Calder trained as a mechanical engineer at the Stevens Institute of Technology in his early twenties. He started painting a couple of years later, which he continued throughout his career. His background in engineering influenced his stylistic turn towards kinetic sculptures.
Calder studied drawing under George Luks and Boardman Robinson at the Art Students League in New York. His first exhibition of paintings took place at Artist’s Gallery in 1926. Shortly after, Calder moved to Paris in 1926 where he became more familiar with the European Avant-Garde and garnered attention from notable figures such as Jean Arp and Marcel Duchamp with his performance Cirque Calder (1926–1931) and wire sculptures. Calder had his first solo show in 1929 at Galerie Billiet in Paris.
Calder’s early mobiles were powered by motors but later transitioned to use human interaction and air to create motion in his work. In 1943, he had a retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Calder is also known for creating monumental public art sculptures in the 1950s and 1960s. His works are held in the collections at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Whitney Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The National Gallery of art in Washington DC, and the Tate Gallery in London.
