Alexander Calder - Living as Art

Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) changed the art world by introducing movement into sculpture. As a small child he collected scraps of copper wire to make jewelry for his sister's dolls; and by ten he had sculpted a three-dimensional dog and a duck out of sheet brass as gifts for his parents. The duck was his first kinetic attempt - it rocked when gently tapped.

The son and grandson of sculptors and painters, he studied mechanical engineering, which became foundational to his artform.

Calder joined the Paris art scene in the late 1920’s, where he continued to create wire sculptures of animals, people, and objects. After a visit to Modrian’s studio in 1930, he conceived of the famed kinetic sculpture known as the “mobile.” These pieces are suspended from the ceiling, a floating geometric cloud of connected rods with colorful cutout attachments. All is balanced to slowly turn and realign, propelled only by the air moving past.

Calder said, "Just as one can compose colors, or forms, so one can compose motions.” 

At work and play in Roxbury, Connecticut 

In 1933 Calder and wife Louisa James bought an old farmhouse on Painter Hill Road in the rural Connecticut township of Roxbury, which over the years became a creative enclave with many neighbors who were artists and writers, including playwright Arthur Miller. Tales of Calder parties include croquet amongst the sculptures, Samba dancing, costumes, and a good deal of liquid refreshment. 

His boundless creativity infused the homes he created in Connecticut, and later in rural France. The new landscape gave inspiration. “Roxbury had a direct impact on Calder’s work. He owned 18 acres and was inspired to bring sculpting outdoors for the first time,” explains Alexander SC Rower, the artist's grandson and president of the Calder Foundation. These large outdoor sculptures were called ”stabiles,” and were commissioned for public spaces and galleries. Many still sit on the Roxbury property. 

Inside the house, color and textures abound. Household tools and kitchen utensils, bright furniture, textiles, and wall art converge in a creatively charged version of a cozy New England farmhouse. Calder also designed textiles that were woven by his wife, Louisa.

Guests also enjoyed a bird-flipping hand that serves as a toilet paper holder.

Calder was a lifelong tinkerer and created and repurposed many household items into practical art.

Dinner bell, 1942, glass and wire

“This was a cheap Mexican goblet wine glass and the stem broke off at a party,” explains Calder’s grandson. “Instead of throwing it away, he repurposed it and turned it into a dinner bell, which is an amazing thing. It was actually used, they used it all the time. These weren’t special occasions – this is just how they lived.”

Calder’s grandson explains the significance of life in the Roxbury house on Calder’s art in this video from Hauser & Wirth.

Many guests at Roxbury were treated to a performance of Cirque Calder, wherein he is ringmaster to miniature lion tamers, trapeze artists, and sword swallowers that he created from wire, fabric, and cork. Using handmade pulleys, tracks, and other contraptions he guided his tiny performers in their whimsical performance.

The artist’s nearby studio, a converted icehouse, was captured by renowned photographer Pedro Guerrero, revealing the beautiful chaos enclosed in the cinder block structure, illuminated by massive multi-paned windows. Calder can be seen happily at work in the studio, surrounded by the teetering stacks of raw materials, works in progress, and artifacts of inspiration.

Atelier Calder in Saché, France 

Throughout the 1950s Calder and Louisa spent extended periods in Paris, and finally in the early 60s bought property in the village of Saché, in the countryside about 3 hours from the city.

Here he designed and built a new studio overlooking the Indre Valley and began creating many of his larger and most dynamic outdoor works. Capturing movement using color and the play of light throughout the day, these striking pieces were commissioned from around the world.

Alexander “Sandy” Calder  was also a painter, theatrical set designer, costumer, textile and wallpaper designer, and continued making jewelry throughout his life, using his first tool, a pair of pliers.

Check out this virtual tour of Calder’s work at Hauser & Wirth Somerset Gallery.

Photos and videos courtesy of the Calder Foundation, Pace Gallery, Pedro Guerrero, Wallpaper, Moma, Hauser & Wirth, Whitney Museum, and Artnet.