Alexander Calder American, 1898-1976
Alexander Calder (1898–1976) utilized his innovative genius to profoundly change the course of modern art. Born in a family of celebrated, though more classically trained artists, he began by developing a new method of sculpting: by bending and twisting wire, he essentially “drew” three-dimensional figures in space. He is renowned for the invention of the mobile, whose suspended, abstract elements move and balance in changing harmony. Coined by Marcel Duchamp in 1931, the word mobile refers to both “motion” and “motive” in French. Many of the earliest mobiles moved by motors, although these mechanics were virtually abandoned as Calder developed mobiles that responded to air currents, light, humidity, and human interaction. He also created stationary abstract works that Jean Arp dubbed stabiles.
From the 1950s onward, Calder turned his attention to international commissions and increasingly devoted himself to making outdoor sculpture on a grand scale from bolted steel plate. Some of these major commissions include: .125, for the New York Port Authority in John F. Kennedy Airport (1957); Spirale, for UNESCO in Paris (1958); Teodelapio, for the city of Spoleto, Italy (1962); Trois disques, for the Expo in Montreal (1967); El Sol Rojo, for the Olympic Games in Mexico City (1968); La Grande vitesse, which was the first public art work to be funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), for the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan (1969); and Flamingo, for the General Services Administration in Chicago (1973).
Major retrospectives of Calder’s work during his lifetime were held at the George Walter Vincent Smith Gallery, Springfield, Massachusetts (1938); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1943–44); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1964–65); The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1964); Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris (1965); Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France (1969); and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1976–77). Calder died in New York in 1976 at the age of seventy-eight.
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Calder: Extreme Cantilever
9 Oct - 22 Nov 2024 LondonBen Brown Fine Arts is delighted to present Calder: Extreme Cantilever, an unprecedented exhibition that brings together for the first time Alexander Calder’s three cantilever sculptures, alongside a curated selection of oil paintings, works on paper, and historically significant artifacts. This exhibition illustrates a pivotal shift in Calder’s formal and conceptual approach to spatial abstraction amid the global upheaval of the Second World War. On loan from the Calder Foundation and esteemed private collections, Calder’s three standing mobiles – Extreme Cantilever, More Extreme Cantilever, and Extrême porte à faux III – showcase the artist’s unbridled imagination and intuitive genius that cement him as one of the 20th century’s foremost innovators.Read more -
Beyond the Canvas
8 - 30 Mar 2024We are thrilled to announce Beyond the Canvas opening March 7, 2024. Join us for an exclusive presentation featuring new works by gallery artists, including Awol Erizku, Yoan Capote, and Ena Swansea, alongside a curated selection highlighting influential post-war masters. Additionally, we will also present a captivating selection of artist and independent designer jewellery from Louisa Guinness Gallery. Beyond the Canvas invites us to reconsider the notion of representation, delve into the layers of artistic expression and discover new perspectives through media.Read more -
Innovation and Tradition
Calder to Capote 6 - 30 Apr 2023Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to announce Innovation and Tradition: Calder to Capote at our Palm Beach gallery, the final exhibition of the season before the gallery closes until November. This thought-provoking presentation elicits dialogue between distinguished post-war and contemporary artists, examining how the challenging of notions and traditions of the past has brought forth radical new ideas and practices that have, and continue to, change the trajectory of art history today.Read more
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Observer’s Guide to the Must-See Shows Opening During Frieze Week
By Elisa Carollo for Observer October 8, 2024The impressive lineup of shows whose openings coincide with Frieze make a trip to the British capital worthwhile, even if just as a stopover on...Read more -
In middle of hot art market, Ben Brown Fine Arts opens Worth Avenue gallery
Bill DiPaolo for the Palm Beach Daily News June 13, 2021A grinning, 4-foot-high cast bronze gorilla sitting in the front window has been drawing attention from pedestrians since Ben Brown Fine Arts opened in early...Read more
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Frieze Masters
9 - 13 Oct 2024Ben Brown Fine Arts is pleased to announce our return to Frieze Masters 2024 (Booth 14), featuring a curated selection of significant post-war and contemporary...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach
6 - 10 Dec 2023Ben Brown Fine Arts is excited to announce our return to Art Basel Miami Beach, taking place from December 8 to 10, 2023. Join us at Booth D8, where we will proudly present a curated selection featuring the diverse talents of our esteemed international contemporary artists, including Yoan Capote, Awol Erizku, Vik Muniz, Nabil Nahas, José Parlá, Enoc Perez, Ena Swansea and Hank Willis Thomas. Our booth will explore the vibrant and varied expressions of these influential creators, defining the forefront of contemporary art.Read more -
Art Basel
15 - 18 Jun 2023Ben Brown Fine Arts is delighted to return to Art Basel (Booth E4) with an exhibition dedicated to the legacy of major European and North...Read more -
TEFAF New York
12 - 16 May 2023Ben Brown Fine Arts is excited to participate in the ninth edition of TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory, from May 12 to...Read more
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Art Basel Hong Kong
23 - 25 Mar 2023Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to return to Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 (Booth 3D11), with a curated presentation highlighting the gallery’s stable of...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach
1 - 3 Dec 2022Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to be returning to Miami to participate in Art Basel Miami Beach , from 29 November to 3 December,...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach
2 - 4 Dec 2021Art Basel Miami Beach art fair 2021. We will be presenting a curated booth highlighting the gallery's stable of international contemporary artists, including Yoan Capote, Vik Muniz, José Parlá and Hank Willis Thomas. Another section of the booth will be designated for an historical exhibition of eminent post-war artists including Miquel Barcelo, Georg Baselitz, Alighiero Boetti, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Enrico Castellani, Lucio Fontana, Robert Indiana, Jeff Koons, Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter, Sean Scully and Andy Warhol.Read more -
The Armory Show
9 - 12 Sep 2021Ben Brown Fine Arts is thrilled to participate live in The Armory Show in New York,9-12 September 2021. Our booth will unveil recent and important works by the gallery's stable of New York, London and Cuba-based contemporary artists, including Yoan Capote, Awol Erizku, Vik Muniz, Nabil Nahas, José Parlá, Enoc Perez, Ena Swansea, Hank Willis Thomas and Gavin Turk. The curated selection will include quilts, paintings, photographs and sculptures straight from the artists' studios, illuminating the engaging and innovative practices of the gallery's diverse and talented team of contemporary artists.Read more