3rd Prize Winner – 2015 International Kinetic Art Competition

I just found out that I won 3rd Prize in the 2015 International Kinetic Art Competition! I can’t quite believe it yet. Very exciting! The competition is organized by the Kinetic Art Organization as part of the International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium in Boynton Beach, Florida.

The Kinetic Art Organization was founded in 2001 and its database and archive is now the largest compendium of Kinetic Art and sculptures information, photos and videos in the world. With over 1,000 members in over 60 Countries, they are also the largest kinetic art and sculpture organization in the world.

Here’s my winning entry, three large custom mobiles that I designed, made and installed at the Fair Oaks Marriott in Fairfax, Virginia last fall:

– See more photos –

3D Printed Mobile 1 now available in 9 different colors

Our little 3D Printed Mobile 1 is now available in 9 different colors (yellow, green and orange are newly added). Today is the last day to order them if you’d like to receive them by Dec. 24th. $9 to $11 each depending on color:

Image of 3D Printing Art Artist Sculptures

– See our other 3D Printed Mobiles –

– Read of my blog about mobiles –

Calder at Art Basel Miami Beach – Mobiles Constitute a Trend

Today, December 4th 2014, at Art Basel Miami Beach, Leonardo DiCaprio also came to buy. As the dealer David Nahmad stood in front of an Alexander Calder mobile at Helly Nahmad Gallery, the heavily bearded actor approached him and asked, “I need your advice on a Picasso drawing,” and the two walked to a rival’s booth. The Calder mobile they stood in front of, pictured below, is Rouge Triomphant, ca. 1959–63, measuring 110 × 230 × 180 in / 279 x 584 x 457cm (“bigger than a taco truck” according to the Wall Street Journal), which sold for US$9.7m just two years ago at Christie’s and is now priced at US$35m. As of Friday, a collector has reportedly reserved it. [Update: the mobile was briefly listed again for sale on Artsy in December 2021]

Photo of Large Orginial Calder Mobile for Sale

Article “Upwardly Mobile” in The Art Newspaper: “Mobiles definitely constitute a trend at Art Basel Miami Beach, with organizers seeing an increase in the number of galleries installing hanging works … The number of mobiles is striking.”

Xin Li, deputy chairman of Christie’s Asia, with Rouge Triomphant at Art Basel Miami Beach, who was instrumental in selling Calder’s mobile Poisson volant (Flying Fish) (1957) for a record-breaking US$25m in May of this year (2014).

Also at Art Basel Miami Beach:

See Calder Foundation President Sandy Rower’s Top 5 Picks at Art Basel Miami Beach 2014

– See the mobiles for sale at Art Basel Miami Beach 2017 –
– Read more of my blog about mobiles –

Two Original Calder Mobiles Sold Tonight at Sotheby’s in Paris

Two original Alexander Calder mobiles, one hanging and one standing, sold tonight at Sotheby’s Art Contemporain in Paris:

Sans Titre (Untitled Hanging Mobile)
painted metal and wire
ca. 1947
86 x 71 cm / 34 x 28 in
Estimate: 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 USD
Sold for: 2,042,246 USD

Calder probably made this mobile in his Roxbury studio and gave it to a New York pediatrician as a thank you, after a somewhat comical request, to treat his mother in her old age.

Sans Titre (Untitled Standing Mobile)
sheet metal, brass wire and paint
ca. 1955
13 x 12 x 7.5 cm / 5 1/8 x 4 ¾ x 3 in
Estimate: 127,000 – 190,000 USD
Sold for: 260,753 USD

– Read more of my blog about mobiles –

Cyber Monday Sale on 3D Printed Mobiles

The 3D printing service company Shapeways that we use to make our 3D Printed Mobiles is having a Cyber Monday Sale today: 20% off when you enter promo code “CYBER20” (expires tonight December 1st 2014 at midnight PST). If you’ve been considering getting any of our 3D Printed Mobiles, now would be a good time: www.shapeways.com/shops/mobiles. You will also receive them before Christmas.

Photo of 3D Printing Art Sculptures for sale

Photos of a Large Custom Mobile for a Playroom

Photos of a large custom mobile I finished last week for a client’s children’s playroom (via Reddymade Design, NYC). It measures 6 ft / 1.8 m and is made with a hollow aluminum sphere (ball). The design is inspired by Alexander Calder‘s mobiles.

– See more of my mobiles –

Photos of Custom Mobile Made with Copper

Photos of a custom mobile. I finished last week. It’s based on the design of Mobile 91:

Here’s the custom design of it that the client requested, made with brushed copper, brushed aluminum and painted aluminum:

Custom designed for a rectangular space, the upper (wider) part of the mobile is held in place by two strings to keep it from rotating full circle while the lower (more narrow) one third of it is made with swivels so the parts can move freely:

Update: I received a photo from the client of the mobile installed in the alcove with the snow covered scenery of the Vail, Colorado area in the background:

From the client: “It looks great! The measurements came out right. We’re real happy with it. Thank you!”

– See more my custom mobiles or read more of my blog about mobiles –

Photo of a Hollow Metal Sphere (Aluminum Ball) for a Custom Mobile

A photo of 5″ diameter hollow metal sphere (ball) with ground flush weld seam for a custom-made mobile. Made of aluminum, it’s very solid but weighs only 0.85 lbs. It still needs to be finished and painted. The design for this custom mobile contains only one sphere. I think someday I’ll make a mobile with a lot of these.

Photo of Hollow Metal Sphere (Aluminum Ball) for a Custom Mobile

– See my custom-made mobiles or read more of my blog about mobiles –

Busy, Busy, Busy – Large Custom Mobiles, Proposals, Article …

Sorry for the lack of blog posts in the last two months, I’ve been too busy. Besides writing an article about mobiles for the interior decorating website Houzz, here are some of the projects that have been keeping me busy:

3 large (16ft/5.3m) custom mobiles for an atrium at a hotel. I will have photos of them once they’re installed on location [Update: photos of the mobiles installed at the atrium]. For now, here are the unpainted aluminum shapes ready to be assembled. The largest ones measure 5 ft / 1.5 m in length:

And a render courtesy of Studio 3877 Architecture:

Working on a proposal for a giant mobile (150 ft / 50 m) for an airport for, what could be, the largest mobile in the world. One part of the study:

Other proposals:

– The one above I actually made in August –

– Read more of my blog about mobiles or see more of my mobiles –

Photos of a Custom Hanging Mobile made with brass and two attachment points

Photos of a custom mobile I finished making for a client (Robert Passal Inc. – Interior & Architectural Design) last week. It’s made with brass and will be installed above a conference table: