Alexander Calder: Avant-garde in Bewegung

On Tuesday morning 27 August 2013, the sculpture 'the Anteater' (Le Tamanoir) from Alexander Calder temporarily from Rotterdam-Hoogvliet to Düsseldorf where it will be part of the exhibition Alexander Calder: Avant-garde in Bewegung in Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. At the start of 2014, the artwork will return to Rotterdam. Because the residents of Hoogvliet have to miss the statue for a few months, they get free access to this exhibition.

The municipality of Rotterdam bought Le Tamanoir in 1965 for the new Hoogvliet neighborhood at Galerie Maeght in Paris. Le Tamanoir is part of the Sculpture International Rotterdam collection, the collection of international artworks in the public space of Rotterdam. Le Tamanoir is the only monumental work by Calder in the Netherlands. Together with the Henry Moore, the Naum Gabo, Erasmus, and the Zadkine in the SIR collection, this work of art is one of the most valuable sculptures in public space in the Netherlands. A team of specialists from Rotterdam and Düsseldorf is preparing the journey and the stay of Le Tamanoir in all details.

Calder on room
It is exceptional that the anteater, a black 'stabile', will now be temporarily seen in a hall, without the noise of the city. In the exhibition Alexander Calder: Avantgarde in Bewegung, the role and significance of Le Tamanoir in Calder's work is highlighted. The exhibition focuses mainly on the 30s and 40s, and in particular on Calder's path to abstraction and his link with the European avant garde.

Alexander Calder
At the end of the 30s, Calder became best known for his 'mobiles': colored shapes that hang from a steel wire construction in a delicate balance and move through wind or draft. Later Calder also designed the base to which the moving part could be attached. The monumental 'stabiles', including Le Tamanoir, later developed from these uprights. Calder was one of the leading artists of his generation and part of the Parisian avant garde. He was in close contact with colleagues such as Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró, Hans Arp, and Piet Mondriaan. In the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, Calder, along with Picasso and Henry Moore, was one of the most sought-after artists for sculptures in public space (including in New York, Chicago and London).

Alexander Calder: Avant-garde in Bewegung
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
Grabbeplatz 5
40213 Düsseldorf

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