Alexander Calder (American 1898-1976)
Alexander Calder is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. He became internationally renowned during the 1930s for developing a revolutionary way of sculpture in the form of suspended moving sculptures, otherwise known as mobiles. His works range from miniature to monumental, and from mobiles to standing mobiles (anchored moving sculptures) and stabiles (stationary constructions). Calder's works are mostly abstract and are characteristically direct, spare, buoyant, colorful and finely crafted. He made ingenious and frequently witty use of natural and manmade materials, including wire, sheet metal, wood and bronze. Calder was prolific and worked throughout his career in many art forms. He produced drawings, oil paintings, watercolours, etchings, gouache and serigraphy. He also designed jewellery, tapestry, theatre settings and architectural interiors. In a century that saw the forms of art and literature reinvented regularly, Calder stands out as one of the great pioneers of his time.
