Black Dots

Alexander CalderWW-1941-120686

1941·Sheet steel, string, and paint·78.7 × 88.9 × 38.1 cm (31 × 35 × 15 in.)

<p>Alexander Calder arrived in Paris in 1926 and soon forged an inventive new artistic path with caricature wire portraits and animals; he even produced a full circus environment in which he also performed. In the early 1930s, Calder began to make unconventional sculptures from flat pieces of steel, which he cut into biomorphic forms reminiscent of the work of his friends <a href="https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Joan+Miró">Joan Miró</a> and <a href="https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Hans+Arp">Jean Arp</a>. He bent, welded, and painted the steel pieces, assembling them into fixed (“stabile”) or moving (“mobile”) constructions, like <em>Black Dots</em>. These revolutionary works, presented without a traditional pedestal and often suspended from above, allowed Calder to explore the organic nature of artistic form as it continually shifted and evolved in the environment in which it was installed.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1941
Medium: Sheet steel, string, and paint
Dimensions: 78.7 × 88.9 × 38.1 cm (31 × 35 × 15 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Alexander Calder

Artist

Alexander Calder

Sculpture

Alexander Calder (1898–1976) was an American sculptor best known for inventing the mobile, a type of kinetic sculpture made of delicately balanced or suspended components that move in response to air currents. Born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, into a family of artists, Calder trained as a mechanical engineer before studying painting in New York. He moved to Paris in the late 1920s, where his wire sculptures and miniature circus performances captivated figures like Marcel Duchamp and Joan Miró. His landmark 1931 exhibition introduced abstract mobiles and stabiles — large, static metal sculptures that became permanent features of public spaces worldwide. Calder's work bridged the gap between fine art and engineering, combining bold primary colors with biomorphic forms drawn from the natural world. His monumental commissions include works for UNESCO in Paris, the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and numerous other institutions. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Lawnton, PA, USA

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