The work of Alexander Calder is kinetic, fluid, constantly in motion. He’s best known for his elegant mobiles (the term itself has its origins with Calder; Marcel Duchamp applied it to his work after visiting the sculptor’s studio). These are abstract, colorful shapes cut from sheet metal, which hang on wires and are perfectly counterbalanced with either more sheet metal or a weighted ball. His mobiles, as well as much of his jewelry, painting, and other work, are just-so abstractions—gossamer This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-One Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 49 Karin Mamma Andersson Inside the moody, mysterious world of Sweden’s preeminent painter. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Amalie Smith The Danish arts writer finding clarity between the lines. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Studio Visit: Heidi Gustafson A cabin in the Cascade Mountains houses a hermetic artist—and her extraordinary world of natural pigments. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Cult Rooms The history—and future—of Luna Luna Park. Arts & Culture Issue 48 Jordan Casteel The acclaimed painter of people—and now plants. Arts & Culture Issue 48 The Art of Fashion On what artists’ clothes communicate.
Arts & Culture Issue 49 Karin Mamma Andersson Inside the moody, mysterious world of Sweden’s preeminent painter.
Arts & Culture Issue 49 Studio Visit: Heidi Gustafson A cabin in the Cascade Mountains houses a hermetic artist—and her extraordinary world of natural pigments.