Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor born into a family of artists. Initially trained as a mechanical engineer, Calder later shifted to art, studying at the Art Students League in New York. His early career included illustration work and painting, but he soon became known for his innovative approach to sculpture. He left behind a transformative legacy in modern art.

Calder is best known for pioneering the mobile — kinetic sculptures that move with air currents — and the stabile, his stationary abstract forms. His style combined engineering precision with artistic creativity, often featuring bright primary colors, wire constructions, and a sense of playful motion. Calder's work bridged the gap between sculpture and performance, blending balance, movement, and abstract form in a completely new way.

Among his most famous works are Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939), one of the first large-scale mobiles, and La Grande Vitesse (1969), a monumental stabile installed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Calder exhibited widely during his lifetime, including major solo shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Gallery in London. His work continues to be celebrated in retrospectives around the world, underscoring his role as a key figure in 20th-century sculpture.