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Nasher Sculpture Center Opens Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy

The Nasher Sculpture Center Presents Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy on view December 11, 2010 – March 6, 2011.

Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy brings together over 30 sculptures spanning Calder’s career with the work of seven contemporary artists whose practices are bound to Calder’s legacy as modern sculptor. While a well-known, even beloved figure, Calder has not previously been considered an important point of reference for contemporary artists. This is the first exhibition to explore Calder’s significance for an emerging generation of sculptors, reconsidering his influence and his innovation through a presentation of his own work alongside the work of contemporary artists.

The seven contemporary artists in this exhibition—Martin Boyce, Nathan Carter, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Aaron Curry, Kristi Lippire, Jason Meadows, and Jason Middlebrook—have taken important cues from Calder including a return to hands-on production, the creative reuse of materials, and explorations of form, balance, color, and movement. Combining rigorous concept with a renewed emphasis on formalism, the work of these artists prioritizes the visual and visceral qualities of sculpture. Both directly and indirectly influenced by Calder, all of the artists are looking towards modernist forms and ideas, challenging and recontextualizing what is for many a familiar art history.

Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. The exhibition is sponsored by The Northern Trust Company. Lead foundation support is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Chicago Community Trust. Major support for the exhibition is generously provided by The Kenneth and Anne Griffin Foundation. Additional generous support is provided by Margot and George Greig, Anne and Burt Kaplan, Ruth Horwich, The Broad Art Foundation, Gagosian Gallery, Lindy Bergman, Helyn Goldenberg, Sara Szold, and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

Additional local support for Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy generously provided by Nancy A. Nasher & David J. Haemisegger and The Broad Art Foundation.

Image: Alexander Calder – Untitled (prop for the ballet ‘Métaboles’), 1969. Sheet metal, wire, and paint, 137 1/2 x 118 in. Collection of Jon and Mary Shirley

About the Nasher Sculpture Center;
Open since October 2003, the Nasher Sculpture Center is dedicated to the display and study of modern and contemporary sculpture. The Center is located on a 2.4-acre site in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. Renzo Piano, a world-renowned architect and winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1998, is the architect of the Center’s 55,000-square-foot building. Piano worked in collaboration with landscape architect Peter Walker on the design of the two-acre sculpture garden.

The Nasher Sculpture Center was the longtime dream of the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher, who together formed one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculpture in the world. The Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection includes masterpieces by Calder, de Kooning, di Suvero, Giacometti, Hepworth, Kelly, Matisse, Miró, Moore, Picasso, Rodin, and Serra, among others, and continues to grow and evolve.

The Nasher Sculpture Center presents rotating exhibitions of works from the Nasher Collection as well as special exhibitions drawn from other museums and private collections. In addition to indoor gallery space, the Center contains an auditorium, education and research facilities, a cafe, and a store.

The Nasher Sculpture Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm and until 11 pm for special events. General Admission to the Center is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students, and free for members and children 12 and under. For more information, visit www.NasherSculptureCenter.org

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