Calder / Kelly - Lévy Gorvy
  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

  • Installation view, Calder / Kelly.

    Installation view, Calder / Kelly. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. All Alexander Calder artworks © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York. All Ellsworth Kelly artworks © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

Calder / KellyExhibitions

New York
November 9, 2018 - January 9, 2019

Opening reception
November 8, 6–8pm

Calder / Kelly

Lévy Gorvy is pleased to present Calder / Kelly, the first major exhibition exploring the visual and personal affinities between landmark American artists Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly. Presented in collaboration with the Calder Foundation and Ellsworth Kelly Studio, the exhibition is a discourse between generations that celebrates the artists’ friendship and their extraordinary experiences as Americans who were shaped by significant periods of time spent living in Paris.

Over the three floors of Lévy Gorvy’s building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a dynamic exchange between two virtuosic talents will take shape. Animated by the tension between figuration and abstraction, the works on view suggest intriguing intersections, including the striking repartee between two- and three-dimensionality (which, in Calder’s case, extends to four-dimensionality) that is a notable element of each artist’s oeuvre. Comprising approximately three dozen paintings and sculptures made over a fifty-year period, Calder’s mobile Red Maze III (1954) and his stabile Black Beast (1940), and Kelly’s paintings Red White (1962) and Three Gray Panels (1987) will be among the works on view.

The aesthetic dialogue between Calder and Kelly extends through an attendant display of art directly exchanged as gestures of friendship and mutual artistic rapport. Letters and other documents illuminate a relationship where creativity and high personal regard were beautifully intertwined.

On view through January 9, the exhibition will be followed by the publication of a fully illustrated catalogue, featuring texts by Calder biographer Jed Perl, curator Veronica Roberts, and philosopher Robert Hopkins, while Simon Perchik, Forrest Gander, and Dan Chiasson will contribute poems inspired by the artists.

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Selected Works

  • Alexander Calder, Black Beast, 1940

    Alexander Calder
    Black Beast
    1940
    Sheet metal, bolts, and paint
    103 x 163 x 78 1/2 inches (261.6 x 414 x 199.4 cm)
    Artwork © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
    Photo: Ken Adlard © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York
    Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York

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  • Ellsworth Kelly, White Cross, 1959

    Ellsworth Kelly
    White Cross
    1959
    Oil on linen
    17 x 20 inches (43.2 x 50.8 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Ronald Amstut
    Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

    Inquire
  • Alexander Calder, Red Maze III, 1954

    Alexander Calder
    Red Maze III
    1954
    Sheet metal, wire, and paint
    56 x 72 inches (142.2 x 182.9 cm)
    Artwork © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
    Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York

    Inquire
  • Ellsworth Kelly, Palisade Study, 1959

    Ellsworth Kelly
    Palisade Study
    1959
    Oil on canvas
    26 x 22 inches (66 x 55.9 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Ronald Amstut
    Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

    Inquire
  • Alexander Calder, Red-Eyed Dragon, 1950

    Alexander Calder
    Red-Eyed Dragon
    1950
    Sheet metal, wire, and paint
    20 x 26 x 4 inches (50.8 x 66 x 10.2 cm)
    Artwork © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
    Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York

    Inquire
  • Ellsworth Kelly, Red White, 1962

    Ellsworth Kelly
    Red White
    1962
    Oil on canvas
    83 1/2 x 67 inches (212.1 x 170.2 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Katherine Du Tiel
    Courtesy San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

    Inquire
  • Ellsworth Kelly, Three Gray Panels, 1987

    Ellsworth Kelly
    Three Gray Panels
    1987
    Oil on canvas
    114 x 412 inches (289.6 x 1046.5 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Jerry L. Thompson
    Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

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  • Alexander Calder, Untitled, c. 1944

    Alexander Calder
    Untitled
    c. 1944
    Oil on plywood with wood
    18 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches (47.6 x 21 cm)
    Artwork © 2018 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
    Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York

    Inquire
  • Ellsworth Kelly, Black Blue, 1959

    Ellsworth Kelly
    Black Blue
    1959
    Oil on canvas
    30 1/4 x 24 1/8 inches (76.8 x 61.3 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Ronald Amstut
    Courtesy Ellsworth Kelly Studio

    Inquire
  • Ellsworth Kelly, Charmettes I, 1956

    Ellsworth Kelly
    Charmettes I
    1956
    Oil on canvas
    24 x 16 inches (61 x 40.6 cm)
    Artwork © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
    Photo: Ronald Amstut
    Courtesy Calder Foundation, New York

    Inquire

Video

TILT Brass Performs at Lévy Gorvy

February 15, 2019

Publications

Selected Press

The New Yorker | “Calder / Kelly”

January 3, 2019

Are Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly a match made in Heaven? You would think so. Visual elation does …

The Art Newspaper | Three exhibitions to see in New York this weekend

December 20, 2018

After a visit to Calder / Kelly (until 9 January 2019) at Lévy Gorvy, you might be surprised that there …

NYC-Arts | Calder / Kelly

December 10, 2018

Running until January 9, 2019, Lévy Gorvy will present Calder / Kelly, the first major exhibition to …

The Paris Review | Staff Picks: Whisky Priests, World’s End, and Brilliant Friends

December 7, 2018

The midcentury American masters Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly, who in life were close friends, …

Improvised Life | How To Print Poems On Your Wall Like The Odes To Calder And Kelly At Lévy Gorvy Gallery

November 27, 2018

At Calder / Kelly, the superb exhibition at Lévy Gorvy of works by Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly …

Wallpaper | Dear Calder, dear Kelly: the friendship of two great artists a generation apart

November 23, 2018

They were separated by 25 years: a generation apart, Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly sparked a rich …

Blouin Artinfo | Calder / Kelly at Lévy Gorvy New York

November 22, 2018

Works by American artists Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly are on view at Lévy Gorvy, New York, …

Blouin Artinfo | Top Art Shows in New York This Week: Stuart Davis to Sarah Lucas

November 10, 2018

It's a busy week in the arts in New York November 9–15, with major shows and some smaller gems glittering …

Galleries Now | Calder / Kelly

November 9, 2018

Lévy Gorvy presents Calder / Kelly, the first major exhibition exploring the visual and personal affinities …

The New York Times T Magazine | A Rare Look at the Letters Between Two Art World Giants

November 9, 2018

How is art shaped by friendship? The exhibition “Calder / Kelly,” which is now open at the Lévy …

Ansa | Calder e Kelly, arte e amicizia a NY

November 8, 2018

"Dear Kelly", "Dear Calder". Nella storia dell'arte del Novecento, nessun "bromance" e' stato artisticamente …

Artnet | Art Industry News: Houston Museum Discovers It Has a Velázquez Painting Hiding in Plain Sight + Other Stories

November 8, 2018

Inside Ellsworth Kelly and Alexander Calder’s Friendship – despite being decades apart in age, the …

Vulture | Did You Know Ellsworth Kelly and Alexander Calder Were Pals? They Even Exchanged Art Gifts.

November 7, 2018

Ellsworth Kelly was studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris just after World War II when he met....

Robb Report | The Kelly-Calder Connection – Abstract Allies

November 7, 2018

No Bromance has been more artistically fruitful than that of Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly. For …

Galerie Magazine | Editors’ Picks: 4 Great Art and Design Events This Week

November 1, 2018

This is the first major exhibition to explore the friendship and shared aesthetic of Alexander Calder …

GothamToGo | 63 Art Installations, Exhibits & Events Not to Miss in November, 2018

October 31, 2018

Lévy Gorvy is pleased to present Calder / Kelly, the first major exhibition exploring the visual and …

Luxurious Prototype | Calder / Kelly Exhibit to Open at Lévy Gorvy's Gallery

October 31, 2018

Beginning November 9, 2018, Lévy Gorvy will present Calder / Kelly, the first major exhibition to explore …

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