Alexander CalderAmerican, 1898–1976Streetcar
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Not receiving at present
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
A leading exponent of kinetic art, Alexander Calder revolutionized sculpture by creating suspended abstract forms that were named “mobiles” by the artist Marcel Duchamp. Describing them as “detached bodies floating in space,” Calder produced works that are perpetually in motion, through a system of weights and counterbalances, as they move in response to subtle air currents. Embracing the rhythms of modern life, Calder’s Streetcar transforms a noisy mode of urban transportation into a restrained, slowed composition of biomorphic shapes made from industrial materials.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1953.179
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Alexander Calder
The whole lifesummer 1949
“Sculpture International” in Philadelphia
In the summer of 1949 Calder is one of 250 sculptors in the 3rd Sculpture International at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; his “International Mobile” is the centrepiece of the exhibition.
1950
Galerie Maeght becomes his Paris dealer
From 1950 Galerie Maeght in Paris is Calder’s exclusive Parisian dealer for the rest of his life. Both of his dealers, Galerie Maeght in Paris and later the Perls Galleries in New York, averaged about one Calder show each per year.
1952
The Grand Prize of the Venice Biennale
In 1952 Calder wins the Grand Prize of the Venice Biennale. His monumental stabiles soon become part of the architectural ensembles of many cities in Europe and America.
