One of the most beloved American artists of the last century, Alexander Calder reimagined sculpture as an experiment in space and motion. He upended centuries-old notions that sculpture should be static, grounded, and dense by making artworks that often move freely, interacting with their surroundings. “One of Calder’s objects is like the sea...,” wrote the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, “always beginning over again, always new.” Calder’s ever-changing artworks invite a viewer’s sustained attention; over the course of many decades, The Museum of Modern Art provided a setting for this productive exchange.

This exhibition looks at Calder’s work through the lens of his connection with MoMA. His work was first exhibited here in 1930, just months after the Museum opened its doors. Throughout its formative years he was called upon to produce several commissioned works—including Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, a multicolored mobile that hangs in the same stairwell for which it was made in 1939—and his sculptures have been a mainstay of the Museum’s galleries and Sculpture Garden ever since. Drawn from MoMA’s collection and augmented with key loans from the Calder Foundation, this exhibition covers the full scope of Calder’s work, from the earliest wire and wood figures to the monumental abstract sculptures of his later years.

Organized by Cara Manes, Associate Curator, with Zuna Maza, Curatorial Fellow, Department of Painting and Sculpture.

Generous funding for the exhibition is provided by The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. 

Exhibition Date: March 7, 2021 – August 7, 2021 

Location: MoMA,  Floor 1, Sculpture Garden

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden

MoMA, Floor 3, 3 South

The Edward Steichen Galleries 

Admission:

Adults: $25

Seniors: $18 (65 and over with ID)

Visitors with disabilities: $18

Students: $14 (Full-time with ID)

Children: Free (16 and under) 

Members: Free

Tickets include admission to all galleries and special exhibitions.

Entry is by advance timed ticket only. Tickets must be reserved online and will not be available at the Museum.

Members do not need to book in advance. An allocation of timed tickets is reserved for members each hour; guest privileges apply.

Free admission for NYC’s healthcare workers, from Oct 1, 2020 through Sep 30, 2021, is made possible by UNIQLO.

Admission is free for a caregiver accompanying a visitor with a disability. 

Reserve timed tickets 

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