Black Widow
1948
Black Widow is a large hanging mobile created by Alexander Calder in 1948, during his landmark trip to Brazil to exhibit in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Composed of black painted sheet metal forms suspended by delicate wire, the work expresses themes of nature, life, and growth through its extraordinary balance and finesse. Three of its elements feature cutouts and voids that allow light, the gaze, and air to pass through, giving the work an almost organic presence despite its industrial materials. The mobile was installed by Calder himself at the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil in São Paulo, and is considered a masterpiece of his kinetic sculpture practice.
- Medium
- Sheet metal, wire, and paint
- Spotted At
- Foundation · Fondation Louis Vuitton
Notes
Label text bilingual in French and English. Work described as on deposit from the artist since 1948. Three elements have cutouts or voids that let through light, the gaze, and the air. The work was installed by Calder personally at the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil in São Paulo during his 1948 Brazil tour.
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George Rickey
American · b. 1907
Rickey created kinetic sculptures with precisely balanced moving metal elements that respond to air currents, directly paralleling Calder's mobiles in their use of engineered movement and geometric abstraction in three dimensional space.
Len Lye
New Zealander · b. 1901
Lye pioneered kinetic sculpture using thin steel rods and sheets that vibrate and sway with motion, sharing Calder's fascination with movement, industrial materials, and the animation of abstract sculptural forms through physical forces.
Kenneth Martin
British · b. 1905
Martin constructed delicately balanced mobile sculptures using suspended geometric metal elements arranged in rhythmic sequences, closely echoing Calder's approach to kinetic balance, spatial composition, and abstract formal relationships.
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