Calder on Stage

Show & Culture

The total and intensely poetic work of Alexander Calder (1898-1976), where sculpture, movement, natural elements, and light come into symbiosis, naturally resonates with the elusive quality of any performance. Throughout his life, Calder nurtured the dream of a "ballet without dancers," in which his mobiles would take center stage in a theater born from his imagination. This dream took shape in 1968 at the Rome Opera House with Work in Progress, a piece Calder considered titling "my life in 19 minutes," now seen as the pinnacle of his work. Following the artist's centenary in 2026, with exhibitions focused on sculpture and movement, Calder on Stage offers, for the first time, an in-depth exploration of Calder’s relationship to the stage, theater, dance, and opera. The exhibition retraces over forty years of stage creations by the inventor of the mobile.