Alexander Calder: Imperfect Circles
Huge bright red, yellow and black circles, red and yellow triangles, and black spirals greet the visitor to ‘Made in Guatemala’ at The Gallery of Everything. The strong, striking, and vibrant works were designed by Alexander Calder (he of mobile fame) in the last few years of his life and made by Guatemalan weavers in maguey, a fibre extracted from the agave plant. “What we found intriguing,” says James Brett, founder of The Gallery of Everything, “was that it was a collaboration between Calder and the artisans.”
Alexander Calder, Hammock, 1974
Calder (1898–1976) had long been intrigued by folk art and indigenous manufacture, and in the 1940s he and his wife visited Central America, discovering locally made wall hangings. His interest was rekindled by the collector and philanthropist Kitty Meyer, who had decorated her New York apartment with indigenous tapestries. Following the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua, Meyer persuaded several artists, including Calder, to provide lithographs for a charity auction to raise funds for artisans and makers there. Later, in 1973, Meyer visited the Calders in their studio and home in France, bringing a Massaya hammock as a thank you from the Nicaraguan weavers.
Calder was so delighted by the hammock that he and Meyer developed a project to work with Massayan artisans to produce hammocks and tapestries to Calder’s designs; however, ultimately the tapestry production was moved to Guatemala. Calder produced 14 separate designs to be made in editions of 100 by 100 artisans, who were paid four times the going rate.
Alexander Calder, Pyramids, 1975
Maguey fibres are traditionally used for many forms of textile. The long, strong fibres are ideal for making durable ropes used for various purposes, including fishing nets and binding, but are also extensively used for making sleeping mats and blankets, as well as footwear and traditional clothing. The fibres extracted from the leaves of agave plants are spun into fine cordage and worked with a variety of tools and techniques. Calder’s tapestries are made of hand-dyed, curled, and braided (not woven) strands of agave, wound in spirals and other shapes, sewn together. Originally suspended on loops, the tapestries can be rolled up for easy storage and transportation and then hung on wooden batons on the walls.
Alexander Calder, Zebra, 1975
Calder liked the works so much that he bought several to hang in his home and studio in Saché, a village in the Indre-et-Loire department and now the site of Atelier Calder. The project drew considerable support from Calder aficionados, including gallerists, collectors, curators, and patrons, who encouraged donations of the hangings to universities under the ‘Art for Education Programme.’ A gala at the New York Cultural Centre led to exhibitions at the Chrysler Museum and at venues across the USA, ensuring that editions of the tapestries found homes in museum, university, and private collections worldwide. Today they fetch from £45,000 upwards to £85,000.
The Gallery of Everything, London.
The gallery has a good inventory for sale, but due to lack of space has around a dozen tapestries plus a hammock on display. At The Gallery of Everything - part of The Museum of Everything - prices are quoted on request, but less financially well-endowed visitors can just wander in and enjoy the simplicity and boldness of the hangings.
Made in Guatemala Installation, The Museum of Everything.
They are based on Calder’s extensive archive of gouaches and drawings, some of which are also on display. Although Calder used geometric shapes, they are hand-drawn and never quite symmetrical. “My circles aren’t perfect – and I don’t want them to be,” he said. The fibre works have an immediacy and intensity that is almost overwhelming – a bit like Calder prints on steroids. “The tapestries are considered special due to the nature of the collaboration and their materiality,” says James Brett, “and they are different from the more literal tapestries woven in France.”
Alexander Calder, Circus, 1975
One of the most interesting is the least typical. ‘Circus’ shows an artiste balancing on a ball on a trapeze far above an empty arena, save for a cleaner and the ringmaster, all picked out in a fine black outline cording on a cream background. The way that the corded maguey fibre has been wound around in amoebic shapes emphasises the musculature of the aerial artist and also the nature of the arena space. Presumably, this is the contribution of the Guatemalan craftspeople in their interpretation of Calder’s designs. It would, however, be helpful to have more information on to what extent Calder dictated the way the hangings should be made, or how free the textile makers were to interpret his gouaches and drawings.
Made in Guatemala Installation, The Museum of Everything.
‘Sun’ is a case in point. The bright red and blue circles of coiled fibre (a little like rush place mats) are emphasised by the way that they are set in almost eye-shaped areas of coiled yellow fibre which are positioned into the more rectangular yellow background. ‘Zebra’ – a brilliant red circle placed on semicircles of black and white stripes – is a very op art textile, whilst ‘Moon’ – a huge red circle above a smaller blue one, with both seemingly bouncing off a black and cream spotted boomerang shape – is very powerful.
This small exhibition is striking and immediate. It makes Calder more accessible and personal, but nevertheless very intense. The wall hangings are significantly more arresting than the accompanying works on paper. The Gallery of Everything is a small space, on two floors of what was once a barber’s shop in a Victorian terraced house in Marylebone. It’s intriguing to see Calder in such an environment and shows that his fibre art would work even in a small home – sadly, at their selling price, most of us are unlikely ever to be able to afford one, but visit and dream.
Words by Corinne Julius
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Further Information:
Alexander Calder: Made in Guatemala.
On show at The Gallery of Everything
4 Chiltern Street, London W1.
13.04.25 - 25.05.25
The Gallery of Everything
The Museum of Everything
Alexander Calder
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Alexander Calder, Snake (detail). Courtesy of The Gallery of Everything
All other Images: As credited in the captions, and attributed to The Gallery of Everything.