8.21.2021

Art Life: MoMA New York's Retrospective on Alexander Calder








Now that some of us have begun to stretch our legs a bit and get back outside, we thought we’d start the comeback on here by highlighting one of our favorite museums and their ode to one of America’s greatest artists. 


The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in our beloved New York is currently showcasing a retrospective, entitled “Alexander Calder: Modern from the Start.” For those not up on Alexander Calder, he’s known for taking existing mediums and turning them on their heads, by way of completely reinventing them into beautiful sculptures and bringing a kinetic energy and dynamism to his work that has continued to boggle the minds of his many followers.


Easily one of the most revered artists, it’s beyond awesome to see the MoMA pay tribute to such an incredible talent. In earlier years, Calder was one of a select group of artists who was creating art that was commissioned by the MoMA itself, during its formative years. One of such notable works, includes Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, which was created in 1939, but also continues to adorn the exact same stairwell today, that it was devised in. The writer Jean-Paul Sartre, known for his sense of existentialism, noted that Calder’s work was “always beginning over again, always new.” Most would agree that the amorphous shapes of his sculptures invite deep reflection, but just as you think you’ve grasped the idea of said piece, they continually change to varying degrees of light and shadow. 


And though he’s known largely for his sculptures, Calder was a true multi-disciplinary artist, who worked across many mediums, such as jewelry, set design and even children’s books. Thanks in part to the Calder Foundation granting loans of his work, you can also view rare works such as Man-Eater with Pennants, which was created in 1945. 


If you happen to be in New York, and would like to see these grand pieces in person, the MoMA currently has them all on display until January 15th. “Alexander Calder: Modern from the Start” is worth the trip, and we highly recommend a visit. 


Chill.



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