Alexander Calder and Fischli/ Weiss

At the heart of the exhibition is the aspect of fragile balance, a precarious, yet simultaneously promising state that is always temporary. In exemplary ways Alexander Calder has been formulating this aspect since the early twentieth century, while Peter Fischli and David Weiss have been doing the same thing since the end of the same century. At first glance, their works could not be more different, but later, they prove to be simply the results of different perspectives in different time periods of the same theme. Alexander Calder (1898–1976) is the master of fragile balance in modern art. His oeuvre is regarded as the embodiment of the balance between gravity and weightlessness. With his pioneering, innovative mobiles Calder created what is probably the most valid form in modern art. In their oeuvre dating back to 1979, Peter Fischli (1952) and David Weiss (1946–2012) have given the theme of precarious balance an entirely different kind of iconic form. With the same sort of sensual indefatigability they developed an irresistible game focusing on balance, clarity, and vision, in which, however, imponderabilities and stumbling blocks often gain the upper hand. Alexander Calder’s works of art enter into an intriguing dialogue with the installations by the team of Swedish artists, Peter Fischli and David Weiss.