It is hard to imagine that a discrete body of work by one of the 20th century’s most famous sculptors could go unseen and scarcely acknowledged for over 50 years. But a series of sculptures and jewelry that Alexander Calder made while traveling in India for three months has not been seen publicly since it was exhibited for three days in 1955, the year it was made — until now.
The vibrant, geometric works will go on view for the first time in the West at the exhibition “Calder in India” at London’s Ordovas, from May 31 through August 3. Over several years, gallery founder (and Gagosian aluma) Pilar Ordovas worked to track down 10 sculptures Calder made during and in anticipation of his time in India, all of which have since found homes in private collections.
“Even though the sculptures were shown twice — once privately and once publicly — there are no records of either of those exhibitions,” Ordovas said. “Trying to locate photographs of these works in their natural settings has been practically impossible.” The difficulty of tracking works that have been largely lost to art history, despite the prominence of their creator, illustrates just how differently museums and galleries approach their work today than they did 50 years ago. “I think the mentality of archiving for the future was different then than it is now. It seems unimaginable today that a major sculptor would have an exhibition in any country and it wouldn't be documented.”
Calder’s hosts in India, the textile-producing family the Sarabhais, frequently welcomed prominent artistic figures to their home in Ahmenabad, including Le Corbusier, Isamu Noguchi, John Cage, Charles Eames, and Merce Cunningham, among others. Calder accepted the family's invitation enthusiastically in 1954, writing in a letter that he was particularly intrigued by a kite-flying festival that took place every January in their hometown.
Before he set off to travel around the country with his wife, Calder worked for several weeks in a studio on the family’s compound, creating mobiles and free standing sculptures in vibrant reds, bright whites, and deep blues. “Calder explored and traveled in the world,” Ordevas said. “He took his pliers, but nothing else, and adapted his working methods to work wherever he set up.”
Though the exhibition is non-selling (as are many at her gallery), it is particularly timely in light of Calder’s recent red-hot sales. An artist record was set for the sculptor earlier this month at Christie’s when “Lily of Force,” 1945, sold for $18.6 million, above a $12 million high estimate and nearly triple his previous record of $6.3 million.