Art Mobiles by Marco Mahler - Modern Mobiles and Hanging Kinetic Art Installations - Custom Artwork

The most expensive mobile ever sold

Marco Mahler — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:31:26 +0000

Alexander Calder’s “Lily of Force”, a standing / hanging mobile he made in 1945, sold yesterday (May 8th 2012) at Christie’s in New York City for $18.5 million, making it the most expensive mobile ever sold (so far). Below are two videos of the piece. If you’re looking for a more affordable hanging mobile, consider one of my ready-made hanging mobiles in my shop, or contact me for a custom mobile, small to large, via my custom hanging mobile page.

Large custom hanging mobile

Marco Mahler — Mon, 07 May 2012 05:25:30 +0000

Large custom hanging mobile for a private residence in Long Island, New York.

2011

10 feet tall – 5 feet wide
Three parts moving independently full circle
Sheet metal

Not a Calder reproduction / replica / copy, but definitely a modern / contemporary Calder inspired kinetic piece.

“A Calder mobile? No, more like a Mahler.”

Marco Mahler — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:08:45 +0000

“Marco Mahler, a sculptor specializing in modern art mobiles and hanging kinetic art commissions, has created 32 airy mobile creations that seem like they are floating in space. Some are colorful and bold while others are more simple and elegant.”

Alexander Calder’s Le Rouge de Saché to be offered at Christie’s

Marco Mahler — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:51:21 +0000

Alexander Calder’s Le Rouge de Saché (hanging mobile shown in the video below) will be for sale at Christie’s in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on May 8th 2012 in New York. Also to be offered in the same auction: A hanging mobile titled The Yellow Loop and a hanging mobile titled Horizontal with Pendants, both from 1961.

From WSJ:

On May 8, Christie’s in New York plans to test the upper reaches of Calder’s auction market by offering a group of five Calder sculptures, including a standing mobile, “Lily of Force,” that carries an $8 million to $12 million price tag—well over Calder’s current auction record of $6.3 million.

Christie’s specialist Brett Gorvy says that the price for “Lily” reflects the work’s size and historical stature. The 1945 sculpture is roughly 8 feet tall and evokes an unruly lily pad, with spindly wires and leaf-shaped plates sprouting from a flat, black plate near the floor. Dada master Marcel Duchamp encouraged Calder to exhibit the work at Paris’s Galerie Louis Carré in 1946, a show that famously reintroduced the American sculptor to postwar European audiences eager for art that felt optimistic.

Sandy Rower, Calder’s grandson, said “Lily” was one of the first sculptures the artist designed so that it could be divided into small pieces for easier shipping. Mr. Rower added that it has been “at least a decade” since he’s seen a Calder of similar significance come up at auction.

Collectors have always paid a premium for standing and hanging Calder mobiles from the 1940s and ’50s, particularly those with dozens of dangling parts that shiver like leaves or fish at the slightest breeze. Red remains his most coveted color, but hues like white are also popular. Christie’s is asking at least $3.5 million for “Snow Flurry,” a 1950 white mobile that comes from the estate of Eliot Noyes, the Harvard Five architect who, with Philip Johnson, championed the no-frills architectural movement known as the International Style. The Noyes estate is also offering an untitled red mobile with scaly shapes that is priced to sell for at least $3 million.

Christie’s wants at least $4 million for “The Red of Saché,” a 1954 hanging mobile. “Blue Flower, Red Flower,” a 1975 multicolored mobile, is priced to sell for at least $1 million.

Rival Sotheby’s has four Calders on its auction agenda, including “Sumac VI,” a red mobile from 1952 that is priced to sell May 9 for $2.5 million or more.

Mobile 79 featured in Jenn Ski’s Home Studio on Apartment Therapy

Marco Mahler — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:57:59 +0000

Mobile 79 featured in Jenn Ski‘s Home Studio on Apartment Therapy:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/before-after-an-artists-home-studio-168489

“Rinse & Repeat” – “Hike The Lake” by Marco Mahler

Marco Mahler — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:13:47 +0000

“Rinse & Repeat”

A feel great short about fly fishing for trout in Swedish lapland

Music by:

- Marco Mahler – Hike the Lake
from: bad Panda #78
- San Ped – Ratas
from: El vals Mefisto
- The agrarians – The Known Day Solidly
from: The Kingmaker’s Shuffle
- The Agrarians – The Triple Fool
from: “The triple Fool” and other songs
- Gandhi’s Gunn – Lee van Cleef
from: Thirtyeahs
- Lorenzo’s music – Downtown
from: Bazar
- Rocanrolando – Bienvenido Al Hotel
from: Rocanrolando

Brown University’s Fusion Dance Company’s Spring Show – Music by Marco Mahler

Marco Mahler — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:59:54 +0000

Fusion Dance Company’s 29th Annual Spring Show
March 9-11, 2012
Brown University, Providence RI

Choreographed by Michelle Le
“Hike The Lake” by Marco Mahler
Sarah Cho, Cameron Donald, Hannah Duron, Sarah Friedland, Michelle Le, Elise Miller, Rory Macfarlane, Anthony Rivera

Mobile 87 as Baby Mobile or Crib Mobile

Marco Mahler — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:46:50 +0000

I received the photo on the left from a happy customer the other day showing Mobile 87 as a baby mobile or crib mobile. The photo on the right shows what Henry is seeing. All five parts of this mobile can rotate independently full circle, which captivates especially small children’s attention. We have one of these hanging in our house and our kids love to give it a push and watch it spin. If you’re interested, they’re available through my shop.

Original Calder Mobile For Sale

Marco Mahler — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:26:33 +0000

Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction on March 9th 2012 will include an original Alexander Calder mobile. Made with painted metal and wire in circa 1973, the same year he made the impressive, large (53 foot/16 m tall) Flamingo sculpture in Chicago (pictured below). The hanging mobile is almost one cubic foot big and signed, it is estimated to go for 200,000 to 300,000 USD [Update March 10th: it sold for 422,500 USD]. If you’re looking for a more affordable modern art mobile, consider the ones in my shop (like the three below), or contact me for a custom mobile.

What wire to use to make a hanging mobile and where to buy it

Marco Mahler — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:38 +0000

I get an email once in a while asking what kind of wire I suggest to use to make a hanging mobile and where to buy it. I just got one again and I figured I’ll just turn it into a post on my blog here.

Most of the time I use galvanized wire which you can get at most hardware stores. It usually comes in a roll (see image below), usually 100 feet long and costs around $6 a roll. Two tips: if you can’t find it in the regular hardware section: sometimes hardware stores have wire in the dropped ceiling section and I’ve also seen wire sold in the household section as clothing line. If you can’t find them in any stores near you, you can get them online at McMaster-Carr.

Wire comes in different gauges, the smaller the gauge number the thicker the wire. 18 gauge is very easy to bend and works fine if you’re attaching lightweight things to it like paper shapes. 16 gauge is sort of in the middle, and 14 gauge works good for a little heavier attachments (I use mostly 14 and 16 gauge for my two to three feet sized mobiles where the shapes are made of sheet metal).

If you’re planning on something a little bigger and a little heavier, you will have to get 12 or even 9 gauge wire, but when you go to that thickness it’s becoming increasingly hard to bend. Especially if you start using solid metal rods (rounds), you’ll need to figure out how to bend it in ways other than just with your hands and a pair of pliers. I made myself a special tool with two pulley wheels to get nice even round loops, but I’ll cover that in a different post sometime.

If you’re planning on making a large mobile, I recommend you use aluminum rods instead of wire, starting with 1/4 inch thick ones. To make a really big mobile or kinetic art installation, such as the 76 foot (23 meters) mobile by Alexander Calder at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, use hollow aluminum tubes. Using straight up metal on really large ones makes them too heavy.

There’s also a table on Wikipedia that shows various data including the gauge, diameter and more of the various wire gauges, and see the page I made that explains some of the basics about the balance of a hanging mobile.

If there’s anything else I can help with, don’t hesitate to contact me.

To see some of my mobiles, head over to the mobile page.