Alexander Calder and Fausto Melotti – London – October 11th – November 30th 2013

Ronchini Gallery is presenting a new exhibition titled “Calder & Melotti: Children of the Sky“, from October 11th – November 30th 2013, in collaboration with Museo Carandente Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto, Italy, curated by Director Gianluca Marziani. The exhibition features works by American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) and his Italian contemporary, Fausto Melotti (1901-1986). It tells the stories of two artists who took inspiration from the city of Spoleto and Italian cultural life in the post-War period.

This scholarly exhibition – including loans from private European collections and Museo Carandente Palazzo Collicola – is a rare opportunity to view many works which have never been publicly exhibited in the UK. While these artists were separated geographically, their respective bodies of work share many technical and aesthetic sympathies. Both artists employed a lyrical expressiveness in the often stolid medium of constructed metal sculpture. Influenced by both the Surrealists and Constructivists, Calder and Melotti were each attracted to working with iron and malleable alloys, using these materials to represent the balance of opposing forces. Both men were trained in engineering before turning to art and were interested in music and dance. Melotti trained as a pianist and often discussed his works in musical terms. Calder often collaborated with composers and choreographers. In their works, the precision of the engineer combines with a musician’s sense of rhythm, balance and play.

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Original Calder Mobiles For Sale On May 15th 2013

Christie’s will be auctioning off four original Alexander Calder mobiles, two hanging ones and two standing ones, at their Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale on May 15th 2013 at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The pieces for sale were created between 1941 and 1968 and are estimated to sell for between $200,000 and $3,500,000 each. Click on the photos below for their respective listings with details and videos for each piece.

Estimate $1,200,000 – $1,800,000 [Update: Price Realized $4,603,750]

Estimate $2,500,000 – $3,500,000 [Update: Price Realized $5,387,750]

Estimate $2,000,000 – $3,000,000 [Update: Price Realized $3,035,750]

Estimate $2,000,000 – $3,000,000 [Update: Price Realized $6,619,750]

– See a list of more original Calder mobiles for sale –

Calder at Pace London – April 19th – June 1st 2013

Pace London (6 Burlington Gardens) will be hosting a comprehensive exhibition of nearly fifty works of art by Alexander Calder from the years of 1945 to 1949, widely considered to be the most important period in the artist’s career. It will include more than twenty-five mobiles, stabiles, and standing mobiles, including Blue Feather pictured below.

More info …

Simple hanging mobile animation

Getting there, getting there … simple hanging mobile calculated and animated:

See more of my videos of mobile sculptures and kinetic sculptures.