I recently made a custom mobile sculpture for the TV show And Just Like That … and installed on the set in a loft in New York City last week. Filming took place a couple of days after, and the art department informed me afterwards that the mobile “looked incredible on our set” and that it “was much admired”. The mobile should be visible in Season 2 Episode 5, which will be released on Thursday, July 13, 2023.

This is a photo of the yet-to-be-painted mobile in my work shop:

Made of aluminum, the mobile weighs only about 5 pounds (2.25 kg), so it moves even with the slightest air currents. The dimensions are approximately 10 feet (300 cm) in height and 10 feet in diameter.

A photo by Tanya Stadelmann from installation day:

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Update – July 13th 2023:

Here are screen captures from the episode where the mobile is featured when Sarah Jessica Parker‘s character (Carrie Bradshaw) visits Peter Hermann‘s character’s (George) place.

Mentions of the mobile, although (possibly) mistaken for a piece by Alexander Calder:

New York Times: ‘And Just Like That …’ Season 2, Episode 5 Recap
Decider: Peter Hermann is the Perfect ‘And Just Like That’ Love Interest — Until He Isn’t

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Upon request, the design is based on a mobile that I custom-made for a private residence in Long Island, New York about 10 years ago:

Update:

There will be two more mobiles sculptures that I’ve made in Season 3 of the series, of which the first episode was released on May 29th 2025.

– See more of my mobile sculptures –

The sculpture consists of two parts that visually correspond with each other and complete each other. Each part measures 25 feet (8 meters) in height and 16 feet (5 meters) in diameter. Made of aluminum to keep the sculpture lightweight and therefor susceptible to air movements within the space, the lower part weighs only 47 pounds (22 kg), the upper part only 39 pounds (18 kg).

The custom design of the two-part mobile sculpture, an application of a new approach to expanding Alexander Calder’s art form of mobiles:

Shown within the 4-story atrium:

View from the ground floor:

Render of the building:

The atrium:

Several weeks were spent on experimenting with fabrication techniques and inventing custom tools. Several jigs to facilitate the assembly process were also made. The balance point of each of the almost 50 parts had to be calculated precisely within the 3d model. The balance point of each part is dependent on the weight of the other parts. Each part had to be fabricated according to the 3d model, with some parts needing many adjustments until they positioned themselves correctly. In the process, the sculpture had to be raised and lowered hundreds of times, making additional adjustments to the parts each time.

The sculpture is made with a conventional hook-and-loop structure, as in a Calder mobile. A custom-made bending tool bolted to a table weighing 2 tons was utilized to allow for the metal rounds as thick as 3/4 inch (2 cm) to be bent into tight loops with an inner diameter of only 1 inch (2.5 cm):

Calculated measurement marks lining up perfectly after a loop was bent, ensuring that the balance point will be precisely in the correct place:

The 3d model of the atrium with the space utilized by the mobile (in red) to ensure that as the kinetic sculpture rotates and moves with the air currents, it will always remain out of reach from the various floors:

A video illustrating the various suspension options for mobile sculptures in the atrium:

Abstract metal shapes in the fabrication process:

The spreadsheet for one of the two sections, comparing the weight of the parts in the 3D-model to the actual weight of the parts as they were being made. The difference throughout the fabrication process had to be kept to a minimum to ensure that each part of the almost 50 parts, and the sculpture as a whole, would balance correctly. In the end, the weight difference between the model and reality was only 0.05% (0.31 ounces / 8.73 grams) of the total weight of the section:

Photo from installation day:

Photo from the opening ceremony in September 2022:

Thanks to Mike Rainer of Mike’s Machine & Welding for providing outstanding assistance with the fabrication of the mobile sculpture.

Update October 2023: The Learning Commons earns the Grand Prize at “Learning By Design” magazine’s Fall 2023 Architecture and Interior Design Awards of Excellence program.

I will be adding more images and information to this post as soon as I have time.

– See more of my art installations and mobile sculptures –

A photo of the yet-to-be-painted mobile suspended in my work shop:

Photos of the mobile sculpture installed at the yet-to-be-finished residence (photos of the finished project will follow soon):

In the evening with shadows of the mobile sculpture on the walls and the ceiling:

The sculpture is made of stainless steel and measures 136 inches (345 cm) in diameter and 107 inches (272 cm) in height.

– See more of my mobile sculptures –

These are images of 3d models of the mobile sculptures that I’m working on expanding, with the balance point for each part precisely calculated. Each of these mobile sculptures has an interconnected balance structure throughout, just like an Alexander Calder mobile. The balance of each part is determent by the weight of the parts connected to it. This specific mobile sculpture, for example, is made of 51 balanced parts that are connected to each other, resulting in just one suspension point for the whole sculpture:

One of these mobile sculptures here shown with the precisely calculated balance points (103 points in total):

– See more of my mobile sculptures –

Made out of aluminum and stainless steel and with a diameter of 60 inches / 150 cm, it weighs less than a pound / less than half a kilogram, and therefor moves with the slightest air currents.

Unlike a conventional mobile by Alexander Calder, this is essentially one mobile made of three mobiles. I believe this is quite unique and original, I’ve not seen a mobile like it.

A “fly around” animation of the design:

Painted:

Custom made wooden box for shipping:

– See more of my custom made kinetic sculptures and suspended mobiles –

Marco Mahler gives new life to the kinetic art form Calder made famous

It talks about how I got inspired by Alexander Calder’s mobiles at the National Gallery of Art’s Tower 2 in Washington, D.C. to make my first mobiles, then made small mobiles and kinetic sculptures that I sold on online, got commissioned for a series of mobiles for a New York Fashion Week, winning third prize in the 2015 International Kinetic Art Organization competition, a custom mobile for Robert A. M. Stern, New York architect and dean of architecture at Yale, collaborated with mathematician Henry Segerman to create 3D printed mobiles, a custom designed mobile sculpture that I made for the 2019 movie The Upside starring Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman, and some of my new ideas for suspended kinetic sculptures for future projects.

Mobiles shown in the article are Mobile 92 and one of my original contemporary mobile sculptures. Some of the 3d printed mobiles and a shape for a large custom mobile are visible in the background, as well as some of my other contemporary mobiles.

Thanks to Elizabeth Cogar and R•Home managing editor Susan Morgan!

Incidentally, a mobile that I custom-made for architect and former Dean of the Yale School of Architecture Robert A.M. Stern for his room at The Kips Bay Designer Show House is featured in the following issue of R•Home Magazine in the feature article about interior designer Doug Stiles and his condo in Richmond’s Bellevue Square where the mobile is currently suspended:

The design:

The residence:

The finished sculpture:

Indoor storage solution for stormy days:

Ready for shipping:

Installed on site:

A painting by David Hockney complementing in dynamics and colors hangs on the wall in the background:

– See more of my custom made moving sculptures –

Each part in these mobiles is suspended and balanced. The balance structure in each mobile is essentially the same as in an classic Calder mobile, which is basically a whippletree mechanism turned upside down. They are suspended kinetic sculptures, each part is able to move independently with the air currents. They’re all made of steel.

These mobiles may be more contemporary in design, as opposed to some of the larger commissioned mobiles that I’ve made that are inspired by Alexander Calder‘s work (originator of the mobile sculpture) or some of the more mid-century modern mobiles. They also seem to be coming full circle back to some of the very first mobiles I made.

I’ll see your spider and raise you a centipede?

I’m not sure yet what I’ll be doing with these mobiles. Maybe use them as maquettes for larger custom sculptures, or maybe finish them and see about an art gallery show for a change. Either way, they seem to be rather new, contemporary and original (and sometimes gravity defying?) to me, which I’m very excited about.

See New Contemporary Original Mobile Sculptures in Progress – Part 1
See an additional contemporary mobile sculpture
See more of my mobiles

Same as the above linked-to sculptures, this mobile is a kinetic sculpture based on the same type of balance structure as a conventional Calder mobile, yet original and contemporary in design (architectural in design?).

See more contemporary mobile sculptures:
– New Contemporary Original Mobile Sculptures in Progress – Part 1
– New Contemporary Original Mobile Sculptures in Progress – Part 2

See more of my mobiles

These are true mobiles, meaning they are kinetic and based on the same balance structure as a Calder mobile, yet original and contemporary in design.

See New Contemporary Original Mobile Sculptures in Progress – Part 2
See an additional contemporary mobile sculpture
See more of my mobiles

Renders of the suspension (designed with Rhino):

Building the maquette (small scale model):

The design is by Tina Spiro with me and Ervin Nichol and inspired by the Petchary, a bird that migrates between the southeastern United States and Central America (including Jamaica):

See more of my custom hanging kinetic art sculptures or read more of my blog about mobiles and suspended kinetic art installation.

It consists of two elements, both with a sort of cut off triangle with one corner on each bent at a 45 degree angle, which on one hand gives it more visual presence and more air resistance (which makes it move with slighter breezes), and on the other hand gives it a mid-century modern feel, not unlike many of the shapes found in Eero Saarinen‘s buildings and structures, one of my favorite architects. However I came up with the idea for the shapes while designing a custom mobile for a private residence at the Butterfield House, considered one of the most architecturally significant modern apartment houses in New York City.

Besides rotating, each element also moves up and down with the wind, and several people who have seen it so far thought it resembles a bird flapping its wings. It’s currently in just plain unpainted metal, you can pick custom colors or a metal finish. And obviously, just because it’s made for outdoors doesn’t mean you can’t hang it indoors.

Available through my mobiles shop on Etsy.

[Click on images to enlarge]

Looking for a different kind of mobile?

Indoor or outdoor, small or large, please see the ones available in my shop or contact me for a custom mobile.

New Kinetic Sculptures

After a long break from making art mobiles / kinetic sculptures, I finally made some new ones in the past month, and I just made them available for sale on my art mobile for sale page.

All art mobiles / kinetic sculptures are handmade by me, and I’m happy to take requests for custom designs, custom colors and custom sizes.