Toile d'araignée

Calder made this Toile d'araignée (Spider Web) in 1965, a late-career stabile of painted black steel. Unlike his floating mobiles, this sculpture is fixed and architectural, its angular steel plates bolted together to form a web-like structure that casts dramatic shadows. The title plays on the tension between industrial heaviness and the delicacy of a spider's web.

By the 1960s, Calder was producing monumental stabiles for public spaces worldwide. He worked with industrial fabricators to scale up his designs, translating the playfulness of his small studio pieces into steel forms weighing tons. The shift from wire and tin to welded plate steel changed the feel of his work without losing its sense of organic movement.

This piece is in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Calder's stabiles bridged fine art and architecture, appearing in plazas from Chicago to Paris.