Fondation Louis Vuitton to Present Blockbuster Alexander Calder Exhibition
300 works by the innovative American sculptor.
Summary
- Fondation Louis Vuitton’s next monographic exhibition will be dedicated to pioneering modern sculptor, Alexander Calder
- Opening on April 15, Calder. Rêver en Équilibre will feature 300 works, including paintings, drawings, jewelry and sculptures, kinetic and static
“Above all, art should be fun,” Alexander Calder once said. In the 20th century, Calder changed sculpture game with his enchanting mobiles that introduced a new sense of science and play into the medium. Now, half a century after his passing, his works are being honored in a forthcoming exhibition coming to Fondation Louis Vuitton.
From April 15 through August 16, 2026, the Parisian institution will become home to Calder. Rêver en Équilibre (Calder. Dreaming in Balance), with 300 works, spanning wire portraits, paintings, drawings, wood sculptures and jewelry alongside “mobiles” and “stabiles” — kinetic and static sculptures in Calder’s own words.
Tracing five decades of creation, highlights on view will include “Cirque Calder” (1931), the famed, live miniaturized circus performance that helped boost the Calder’s name within the overseas avant-garde scene. Elsewhere, selection from the “Constellation,” the series of hanging mobiles, titled by Marcel Duchamp, furthers into the artist’s kinetic practice.
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The exhibition will also include works from friends and contemporaries — Barbara Hepworth, Paul Klee, Jean Arp, Jean Hélion, Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso — which contextualize Calder’s eye for innovation within the broader avant-garde movement, while the 34 mounted, archival photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, André Kertész, Gordon Parks, May Ran, Irving Penn and Agnès Varda offers a more intimate look into Calder, beyond the artistry.
Fondation Louis Vuitton
8 Av. du Mahatma Gandhi,
75116 Paris, France
