National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Alexander Calder: Radical Inventor. 5 April–4 August 2019. Originated from Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Solo ExhibitionWhile in Calvi, Calder collects fragments of ancient pottery and fashions the pieces into a necklace. I meant to write you a birthday letter two days [ago] but I made you a necklace instead—having brought along pliers + wires, and found bits of things along the parapets of the citadel,
to put into it . . . I have been making a lot more wire jewelry—and I think I’ll really do something with it, eventually.
Soon after moving to Paris in 1926, Calder created his Cirque Calder. Made of wire and a spectrum of found materials, the Cirque was a work of performance art that gained Calder an introduction to the Parisian avant-garde. He continued to explore his invention of wire sculpture, whereby he “drew” with wire in three dimensions the portraits of friends, animals, circus themes, and personalities of the day.
