Alexander Calder and the Natural Cycle
A
few years ago, The Susquehanna Art Museum presented a small exhibition called
Pop Mechanics on the second floor that focused on contemporary artists
and their approaches to kinetic art and materials. There was a small Alexander
Calder mobile in that exhibition that was, in the context of Pop Mechanics,
a historical reference to lead the viewer through the modern to the contemporary.
Rebelling against the sensibilities of that chronology, that little Calder
was a show stealer.
When someone says, “Calder,” many of us think of monumental steel sculpture and large mobiles like Ghost, the big white one that graces the atrium of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This picture in our mind’s eye is only a small part of the big picture of Alexander Calder’s work, and Calder’s smaller, delicate wire sculptures from early in his career are missing from view.
From
time to time, Alexander Calder (1898-1976) took breaks from sculptural endeavors
to explore other means of expressing forms and ideas. These detours often
led him to work on gouaches, two-dimensional works on paper with water-based
media and ink. He painted using oils for a brief time. He consistently drew
with pen and ink. Calder also, later in his career, worked on editions of
lithographs.
Alexander Calder’s work is in major collections around the world. Solo exhibitions of his work number in the hundreds, and the list of galleries and museums that hosted those shows is impressive. Between his exhibition history and the many articles published about his work, themes, and era, Alexander Calder is one of the most widely known artists of the Twentieth Century.
Alexander Calder and The Natural Cycle is a glimpse into the work of an influential and accomplished artistic powerhouse. Knowing the qualities of orbiting objects, celestial bodies, and the earth at our feet, Calder translates our own nature to us. From a narrow band of time toward the end of Calder’s life, here is a body of work that is organic and fluid, executed with the utmost in confidence and skill.