1898, Lawton, United States – 1976, New York, United States
Red Polygon, 1961
Metal, red flat oil paint
Mobile sculpture with variable dimensions
Acquisition: Donated by the artist, 1964
Reference: 00999
In 1964 Boris Petkovski, the first director of the MoCA Skopje, addressed Calder, and in the letter, he stated a request to receive his work as a gift to newly established Museum of Contemporary Art. The answer came promptly and included in it was the artist’s wish to meet and choose the work in person. At their meeting in Calder’s atelier in Saché, village in France, Calder’s decision was to donate one of his mobiles. Additionally, surprised by the modesty of Boris Petkovski, the artist decided to donate another work, a gouache which he dedicated to the city of Skopje.
Biography
Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static “stabiles”, and his monumental public sculptures. Calder preferred not to analyze his work, saying, “Theories may be all very well for the artist himself, but they shouldn’t be broadcast to other people.”
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.
The full article is on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Calder
