Calder's Sculpting Time at LAC Lugano

The LAC Lugano presents 'Calder. Sculpting Time', a major exhibition dedicated to Alexander Calder, one of the 20th century's most significant artists. Curated by Carmen Giménez and Ana Mingot Comenge, the show features works from 1931 to 1960, with a strong focus on the 1930s and 1940s. The exhibition includes mobiles (a term coined by Marcel Duchamp), constellations (a term proposed by Duchamp and James Johnson Sweeney for wood and wire sculptures from 1943), and wall sculptures. The final room, with its large window overlooking Lake Lugano and the surrounding hills, offers a unique viewing experience. The exhibition highlights Calder's shift from his early figurative 'Cirque Calder' to pure abstraction after arriving in Paris in the 1920s. It also precedes his large-scale outdoor steel sculptures of the 1950s. Works are loaned from museums and private collections. The catalog is published by Silvana Editoriale with MASILugano. A 1961 photo by Ugo Mulas shows Calder at his property in Saché, France, with a sign reading 'chien méchant', emblematic of his blend of power and lightness.