Frank Gehry Designs Exhibition Space for Alexander Calder

Frank Gehry has created a design language using boxy podiums and sinewy alcoves for the exhibition space of Alexander Calder at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The exhibit entitled “Calder and Abstraction: From Avant-Garde to Iconic” highlights almost 50 works, including sculptures, maquettes and mobiles, of the world-renowned artist until he died in 1976.

Calder is a well-known name in revolutionary modern sculpture from French Surrealism to American vernacular. One of his most iconic works would be the coined mobiles by Marcel Duchamp. His later works show more of monumental structure with arching forms and massive steel planes showing Calder’s affinity with dynamism and innovation.

The exhibit, which is in cooperation with the Calder Foundation, is Calder’s first museum display in Los Angeles. But Calder has always been a significant figure in LACMA as his work Three Quintains (Hello Girls) was commissioned by the museum for its opening in 1965.

For his part, Gehry said that he based his design on a 1964 retrospective exhibition of Calder in 1964 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Being a fan of the artist, Gehry developed curvy partitions with sleek edges as a backdrop design for Calder’s dynamic works.

Majority of Calder’s works are perched on white podiums of different heights and shapes as a way for Gehry to emphasize the uniqueness of Calder’s work especially in terms of details and shadow effects. Visitors are guided through the exhibition space by the transition of wall colors and slender railings.

Calder’s exhibit will run until July 27. This is the latest gallery design for Gehry after last year’s Ken Price show and the 1968 exhibition for Billy Al Bengston’s sculptural works.