Calder: Monumental at the Denver Botanic Gardens

“Calder: Monumental” is this summer’s special exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Visiting the Botanic Gardens is always delightful, but this exhibit offers a unique chance to view many of Calder’s large sculptures in one place. It’s a special treat to those of us who may not have seen his work in person before.

Calder, a twentieth century American artist, is known for his bold sculptures and mobiles. The works in this exhibit are mostly large, sculptural works of bolted steel plates in colors of bright red, blue and black. The eight sculptures are placed strategically throughout the gardens, so as to interact and enhance the landscape of trees, flowers, and ponds.

When designing his large sculptural pieces, Calder would usually build a miniature model and experiment with the model until he found the form and function he was looking for. Sometimes, he titled his works after realizing that the curve of the metal reminded him of something. Therefore, the titles of some of his pieces on display at the Botanic Gardens are delightfully descriptive, such as “Funghi Man”, “The Crab”, “6 Dots Over a Mountain”, and “A Two-Faced Guy”.

You will be able to view “Calder: Monumental” until September 24th . Find out more at the Denver Botanic Gardens website here.