Alexander Calder - Artists - Helly Nahmad Gallery

Alexandre Calder, Polychrome from One to Eight, 1962. Over fourteen feet in length when all of the elements are aligned, Polychrome from One to Eight stretches gracefully outward and is a perfect example of Calder’s attention to form in space. Hanging from delicate loops on precisely balanced pieces of wire, two groups of four forms extend from the central axis. On one side, a single red, rounded triangle gives way to a piece reminiscent of a yellow gingko leaf. Two red circles branch from this and cap the gentle quartet. On the other side, a striking black quadrilateral hovers and gives way to a white triangle and a pair of organic forms that are painted in yellow and red. The artist’s exacting use of color in the present work is typical of his output, and furthers his ideas about the use of color not as a means of decoration or a representation of something in the real world, but rather as a means of highlighting the differing elements within the piece so that they could more aptly form a cohesive whole.

Alexandre Calder, Polychrome from One to Eight, 1962
Sheet metal, rod, wire and paint
95.3 x 430.5 x 96.5 cm. (37 1/2 x 169 1/2 in. x 38 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.

Alexandre Calder, Petit Mobile sur Pied, 1953. Crowned by a series of red, blue and yellow discs circling majestically around its slender body, Petit Mobile sur Pied exemplifies the dynamic sense of movement and colour that Alexander Calder inserted into his most memorable works. The graceful cascade of multi-coloured circles is achieved by carefully counterbalancing these delicate elements with a serpentine sliver of glistening metal that acts as both a visual and structural counter-balance within the work.

Alexandre Calder, Petit Mobile sur Pied, 1953
painted sheet metal, rod and wire
66.7 x 50.8 x 43.2 cm. (26¼ x 20 in. x 17 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.

Alexander Calder, Black II, 1949. Elegantly standing as though poised on tiptoe, Alexander Calder’s Black II is an exquisite example of the artist’s innovative combination of sculptural dynamism and grace. Comprised of dynamic upward arcs of red metal planes that pierce through a sunny yellow disk before culminating in a carefully balanced arm supporting a floating arrangement of multicolored discs, Black II incorporates many of the iconic motifs that Calder used throughout his career. With this particular form, Calder successfully incorporates both the graceful movement that he pioneered in his groundbreaking mobiles together with the more substantial nature of his mature postwar work.

Alexander Calder, Black II, 1949
Painted sheet metal and wire
101.6 x 83.8 x 45.7 cm. (40 x 33 in. x 18 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.

Alexander Calder, Maquette for Théâtre de Nice, 1970
Standing mobile: painted sheet metal, brass and wire
51 x 56 x 42 cm. (20 1/8 x 22 in. x 16 1/2 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.

Alexander Calder, Crag with Petals and Yellow Cascade,1974. This sculpture is part of Calder Stabile series which is known as revolutionary gesture in the sculpture history as its getting rid of the pedestal. "Crag with Petals and Yellow Cascade” features two undulating metal stems balanced in the cavities and peaks of this mountainous form, disrupting the dense and static plinth and allowing light polychromatic elements to swirl and catch the air. ⁣

Alexander Calder, Crag with Petals and Yellow Cascade, 1974
Sculpture: Stabile: Sheet metal, rod, wire and paint
196.9 x 197.5 x 162.6 cm. (77.5 x 77.75 in. x 64 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.

Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1948 Hanging mobile—sheet metal, wire and paint 134.6 x 182.8 x 63.5 cm. (53 x 72 in. x 25 in.) © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York. ©Helly Nahmad Gallery NY.

Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1948
Hanging mobile—sheet metal, wire and paint
134.6 x 182.8 x 63.5 cm. (53 x 72 in. x 25 in.)
© 2019 Calder Foundation, New York / Artist Right Society (ARS), New York.