Calder Foundation

Sphere Pierced by Cylinders

Date 1939
Media
Wire and paint
Dimensions
83" × 34" × 43"
Collection
Calder Foundation, New York
Historical Photos  2
Related exhibitions  6
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1998)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Alexander Calder: 1898–1976. 29 March–12 July 1998.

Solo Exhibition
Fundación del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao (2003)

Fundación del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao. Calder: Gravedad y la Gracia. 18 March–12 October 2003.

Solo Exhibition
Tate Modern, London (2015)

Tate Modern, London. Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture. 11 November 2015–3 April 2016.

Solo Exhibition
Centro Botín, Santander, Spain (2019)

Centro Botín, Santander, Spain. Calder Stories. 29 June–3 November 2019.

Solo Exhibition
Kunsthal Rotterdam (2021)

Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands. Calder Now. 21 November 2021–29 May 2022.

Group Exhibition
Pace Gallery, Los Angeles (2023)

Pace Gallery, Los Angeles. Calder/Tuttle:Tentative. 21 January–25 February 2023.

Solo Exhibition
Chronology  1
1939

Calder is invited to make sculptures for an African habitat designed by Oscar Nitzschke for the Bronx Zoo. Calder conceives of treelike sculptures to be made in steel so they can withstand the abuse of the wild animals. Although the habitat is never realized, Calder creates five

models for the project: Sphere Pierced by Cylinders, Hollow Egg, Four Leaves and Three Petals, Leaves and Tripod, and The Hairpins.

Works / Stabile 251
Related Timeline
1937–1945 Public Commissions and the War

In 1937, Calder completed Devil Fish, his first stabile enlarged from a model. He received two important commissions: Mercury Fountain (1937) and Lobster Trap and Fish Tail (1939). His first retrospective was held in 1938 at the George Walter Vincent Smith Gallery in Springfield, Massachusetts, followed by another in 1943 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.