100 years of Calder’s circus
Kelsey Rose | Substack | 18th October 2025
Arriving in Paris in 1926, Calder wanted something to announce himself in art circles. He came up with a miniature circus, a work now enjoying a 100th anniversary show. Charm is not its only quality. It shows his interest in movement and his facility with wire, thus foreshadowing his sinuous wire portraits and mobiles. His circus has a whimsical quality much appreciated by art critics of the time. And, with performances that could go for two hours, “Cirque Calder predated performance art by forty years.”
