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Calder

Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor who is best known for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic and his monumental public sculptures. He was born into a family of artists, as both his father and grandfather were established sculptors. Calder's work first gained attention in Paris in the 1920s, and was soon championed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, resulting in a retrospective exhibition in 1943. Major retrospectives were also held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1964) and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1974). Although primarily known for his sculpture, Calder also created paintings and prints, miniatures (such as his famous Cirque Calder), theater set design, jewelry design, tapestries and rugs, and political posters. Calder was honored by the US Postal Service with a set of five 32-cent stamps in 1998, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously in 1977, after refusing to receive it from Gerald Ford one year earlier in protest of the Vietnam War. An important work of Calder's is the monumental "Floating Clouds" (1952-1953) of the Aula Magna (Central University of Venezuela) of the University City of Caracas in Venezuela. This work is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Calder's clouds were specially designed to combine art and technology, making the auditorium one of the top 5 university auditoriums in the world by sound quality.
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WHO WAS ALEXANDER CALDER?

In Short

Artist full name:

Alexander Calder

Nationality:

American

Date of birth - Date of death:

July 22, 1898 - November 11, 1976

Art movements:

Modern Art, Surrealism, Modern Sculptor

Related artists:

Jean Arp, Joan Miró, Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth

Main works:

Cirque Calder, Josephine Baker, Croisiere, Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere

Related categories:

Watches