Alexander Calder and Fausto Melotti – London – October 11th – November 30th 2013
Ronchini Gallery is presenting a new exhibition titled “Calder & Melotti: Children of the Sky“, from October 11th – November 30th 2013, in collaboration with Museo Carandente Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto, Italy, curated by Director Gianluca Marziani. The exhibition features works by American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) and his Italian contemporary, Fausto Melotti (1901-1986). It tells the stories of two artists who took inspiration from the city of Spoleto and Italian cultural life in the post-War period.
This scholarly exhibition – including loans from private European collections and Museo Carandente Palazzo Collicola – is a rare opportunity to view many works which have never been publicly exhibited in the UK. While these artists were separated geographically, their respective bodies of work share many technical and aesthetic sympathies. Both artists employed a lyrical expressiveness in the often stolid medium of constructed metal sculpture. Influenced by both the Surrealists and Constructivists, Calder and Melotti were each attracted to working with iron and malleable alloys, using these materials to represent the balance of opposing forces. Both men were trained in engineering before turning to art and were interested in music and dance. Melotti trained as a pianist and often discussed his works in musical terms. Calder often collaborated with composers and choreographers. In their works, the precision of the engineer combines with a musician’s sense of rhythm, balance and play.
Interview: The Edge: 3D Printed Mobiles by Marco Mahler and Henry Segerman
– June 11th 2013 –
Interview with Novedge about our 3D Printed Mobiles
3D-Printed Mobiles – Available starting today
– May 14th 2013 –
I’m excited to announce a new collection of mobiles that are the result of a collaboration between me and Henry Segerman, a research fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne:
Original Calder Mobiles For Sale On May 15th 2013
Christie’s will be auctioning off four original Alexander Calder mobiles, two hanging ones and two standing ones, at their Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale on May 15th 2013 at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The pieces for sale were created between 1941 and 1968 and are estimated to sell for between $200,000 and $3,500,000 each. Click on the photos below for their respective listings with details and videos for each piece.
Estimate $1,200,000 – $1,800,000 [Update: Price Realized $4,603,750]
Estimate $2,500,000 – $3,500,000 [Update: Price Realized $5,387,750]
Estimate $2,000,000 – $3,000,000 [Update: Price Realized $3,035,750]
Estimate $2,000,000 – $3,000,000 [Update: Price Realized $6,619,750]
– See a list of more original Calder mobiles for sale –
New Renders of 3D Printed Mobiles in Development
Following are some images / renders of new models of the 3D printed mobiles that we have in development.
I’m very excited about the possibilities that 3D printing opens to mobiles and really any sort of kinetic sculptures, setups that someone like Alexander Calder probably would not have thought of as possible or reasonable to make. It means that things can be made that used to be impossible to make by hand, especially by creating mobile designs through scripts and precise calculations. Balance points can be calculated to 1/100th of a milimeter and parts can be placed at exactly that point. The diameters of wires can be increased or decreased by very minimal amounts from one piece to the next. And hanging mobiles that would be extremely time consuming to make by hand can be made quite affordable. This first collection of 3D printed mobiles feels like it’s only the very beginning of exploring the possibilities.
Currently it looks like the first mobiles will be available through our Shapeways mobiles shop by mid-May 2013. If you’d like to be notified, please enter your email address in the form on the bottom left of this page.