Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) changed the art world by introducing movement into sculpture. From a family of artists, he began making his own art while still a child, collecting scraps of copper wire to make jewelry for his sister's dolls; and creating three-dimensional metal sculptures, including a dog and a rocking duck for his parents, the duck his first kinetic design.

Later studies of mechanical engineering helped to form the foundational for what would become his iconic artworks.

Calder joined the Paris art scene in the late 1920’s, where he continued to create, making wire sculptures as portraits.

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. 

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 Louisa.

His nearby studio, a converted icehouse, housed a beautiful chaos of teetering stacks of raw materials, works in progress, and artifacts of inspiration, and coupled with the new landscape, gave rise to 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. 

Calder was a lifelong creative, and designed many household items as usable artworks, including silverware, a custom toilet paper holder. and milk skimmer.

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.

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.

Calder was also a painter, theatrical set designer, costumer, textile and wallpaper designer, and he 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, calder.org, Artists Rights Society (ARS), DACS London, Art Resource, New York, gagosian.com, Hauser & Wirth, hauserwirth.com, Pedro E. Guerrero, Pedro E. Guerrero Archives, Walter Limot, theartnewspaper.com, meer.com, and improvisedlife.com.