Photo: Alexander Calder. “Baby rattle with bells,” 1920. Brass wire and bells, 9 ¼ x 4 ½ x ½ inches. Collection of San José Museum of Art. Gift of Megan L. Hayes and Reed Zars in Memory of Margaret Calder Hayes and Kenneth and Janet Gray Hayes, 2022.16.06. © 2024 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Johnna Arnold, Impart Photography.
“Calder: at home, among friends” at the San José Museum of Art offers an intimate look at Alexander Calder beyond the monumental.
Drawn primarily from the museum’s collection, the exhibition features 28 works—including mobiles, drawings, and handcrafted jewelry and household objects—many of which once lived in Calder’s home or were shared with close friends and family. These personal pieces reveal the quieter, more domestic side of an artist best known for transforming space with movement and form.
Here, Calder’s world feels close: inventive, playful, and deeply human.