San José Museum of Art

See what you think.

Alexander Calder: Color in Motion

  • Big Red, 1959
    Metal, wire, and paint
    60 x 48 inches
    San Jose Museum of Art; Partial and promised gift of Kenneth and Janet Gray Hayes in memory of Margaret Calder Hayes, in honor of the San Jose Museum of Art’s 35th anniversary 2005.22; © 2009 Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photograph courtesy of Douglas Sandberg and Michael Bartalos

  • Smiling Night, 1968
    Gouache on paper
    23” x 30 ½”
    Private collection, San Francisco © 2009 Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • An abstract painting of a bold black circle. Blocks of color surround it, following one another in a circular pattern shooting off the canvas. Surrounding this snail-like shape to the right are curved black lines, like eyelashes.

    Untitled, 1969
    Gouache on paper
    29 ¼” x 43”
    Private collection, San Francisco © 2009 Calder Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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    Trained as an engineer, Calder challenged the long-held notion that sculpture was static and monumental, and his inventive, colorful, animated “mobiles” epitomize the innovative, optimistic spirit of early 20th-century modernism. This exhibition included mobiles, jewelry, and works on paper drawn from Bay Area collections, including the holdings of several of the Museum’s founders and longtime supporters. 

    Sponsors

    • Applied Materials