Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder ( born July 22, 1898 in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, † 11 November 1976 in New York ) was an American sculptor of modern times. Much of his work is attributable to kinetic art.

Life and work

Alexander Calder comes from an important family of sculptors. His grandfather Alexander Milne Calder designed the 250 figures of the City Hall of Philadelphia and his father, Alexander Stirling Calder, was a well-known sculptor. Alexander Calder began his artistic work as a self-taught, by, landscapes painted in addition to his professional activities, including as a stoker. From 1915 to 1919 Calder studied engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, before drawing and painting classes occupied from 1923 to 1926 at the Art Students League in New York and from 1924 to 1926 as a draftsman at the National Police Gazette earned his money.

1926-1927 Calder stayed in Paris, where his first wood sculpture was created. In 1927 his first traveling toy and 1929 his first movable wire structure was built in the mitbewohnten he studio of Arno Breker " and the famous circus, a created from various materials toy ring full wire acrobats with whom Calder designed all performances for friends. "

Calder moved to Paris in 1930, attended the Académie de la Grande here Chaumiere and learned other contemporary artists, including Piet Mondrian and Fernand Léger, know. The encounter with Piet Mondrian his first mobiles that do not seem subject to gravity emerged. With them he eventually became known and in 1931 the first major exhibition in Paris. He was since 1932 a member of the artist group Abstraction- Création, had an influence on his development towards abstraction.

1933 Calder moved to Roxbury / Connecticut, where in 1934 he first designed for the outdoor area Mobile anfertigte, but in addition also first abstract large-scale sculptures. A major concern was him, starting from efforts of Marcel Duchamp - this was baptizing " the hand -operated or motor drive moving constructions of Calder, Mobiles ' " - and the other to connect abstraction and motion with each other. In addition to his mobiles, which are moved by the air circulation, he constructed also driven by motors sculptures. For the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937, he built for the Spanish pavilion at a mercury fountain to commemorate the deaths of mercury mining. More works in the Spanish pavilion included the murals by Pablo Picasso with his Guernica as well as world-renowned Le Faucheur ( The Reaper ) by Joan Miró, which is considered lost. Today, Calder fountain in the Fundació Joan Miró.

In June 1952 took place at the Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal Calder's first solo exhibition Calder Mobile in Germany.

Alexander Calder is one of the main representatives of the kinetic sculpture. From the lifelong artistic and constructive exchange with his friend Joan Miró is proved by numerous cross-references in the works of the two artists.

Alexander Calder took part in documenta 1 (1955), Documenta II (1959) and the documenta III in Kassel in 1964.

In 1975 he designed a racing car for BMW, the first BMW Art Car.

Exhibitions

  • 2013: Alexander Calder - avant-garde movement, art collection Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf. Catalog with DVD.

Sculptures

Crinkly avec disc rouge (1973 ) Schlossplatz in Stuttgart

Pointes et Courbes (1970 ) Sculpture Garden Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach

The Four Elements (1961 ) Moderna Museet in Stockholm

Le Halebardier (1971) On Maschsee in Hanover

Feuille d' arbre (1974 ) Tel Aviv, Israel

L' Homme (1967 ) Montreal, Canada

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