Claire Falkenstein: Rediscovering the Erased Sculptor of Wire and Venetian Glass
Claire Falkenstein, an American sculptor born in Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1908, relocated to Berkeley, California, where she held her inaugural solo exhibition at the East-West Gallery in 1930. She studied with Alexander Archipenko, initially working with clay and later transitioning to wood for her abstract pieces. By 1950, her materials expanded to include plastic, aluminum, glass, and wire. At the age of 42, she moved to Paris, where she mingled with Jean Arp and Alberto Giacometti, creating open wire sculptures. Notably, Peggy Guggenheim commissioned her to design the entry door for the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice. Falkenstein also completed significant projects like the Galleria Spazio railing in 1958 and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni gates in 1961. She returned to California in 1963 and eventually turned to painting, passing away in Venice, California, in 1997.
Key facts
- Claire Falkenstein was born in Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1908 and died in Venice, California, in 1997 at age 89.
- She had her first solo show in 1930 at the East-West Gallery in San Francisco while still a student, before any formal training.
- She studied under Alexander Archipenko, who introduced her to the Russian avant-garde and to Naum Gabo and László Moholy-Nagy.
- In the 1940s she created “exploding volumes,” sculptures intended to be taken apart and reassembled by the viewer.
- By 1950 she was working with plastic, aluminum, glass, and wire; at age 42 she moved her studio to Paris and associated with Jean Arp and Alberto Giacometti.
- Peggy Guggenheim commissioned her to make the entry door for the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice, completed in 1961, using wire and Murano glass.
- She received large-scale commissions including the railing of the Galleria Spazio in Rome (1958) and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni gates (1961).
- After returning to California in 1963, she created works such as Structure and Flow No. 2 (1964–65), now destroyed, and fountains for the Long Beach Museum of Art and Cal State Long Beach.
Entities
Artists
- Claire Falkenstein
- Alexander Archipenko
- Naum Gabo
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Jean Arp
- Alberto Giacometti
- Peggy Guggenheim
- Michel Tapié
Institutions
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- The Falkenstein Foundation
- Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC
- East-West Gallery
- Galleria Spazio
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- Pasadena Museum of California Art
- Long Beach Museum of Art
- Cal State Long Beach
- San Diego Museum of Art
- Cal State Fullerton
- Smithsonian Institution
- Martha Jackson Memorial Collection
Locations
- Coos Bay
- Oregon
- United States
- Berkeley
- California
- San Francisco
- New York
- Paris
- France
- Venice
- Italy
- Rome
- Pasadena
- Long Beach
- San Diego
- Fullerton