Alexander Calder may be best known to the general public for his dynamic, large-scale sculptures that can be found in major U.S. and European cities. But two new exhibitions opening Friday night at the San Jose Museum of Art explore the more personal side of Calder’s work and the impact it had on other artists.
One of them, “Calder: at home, among friends,” has a very strong connection to San Jose, as many of the pieces of jewelry and other small items on display were gifted by the family of former San Jose Mayor Janet Gray Hayes, whose husband, Kenneth Hayes, was Calder’s nephew.
Mayor Hayes often wore Calder brooches during her time in office, and one of them — a stylized “JG” created by Calder for the groundbreaking politician — is among the two dozen pieces on view, including a gouache painting made for sculptor Louise Nevelson.
It wouldn’t be a Calder exhibition without some colorful mobiles and other delicate pieces that look like geometric abstract paintings brought to full 3-D life — and some of those are on display, too, including “Big Red,” a gift from the Hayes family in memory of Margaret “Peggy” Calder Hayes, the artist’s only sister, and given in honor of the San Jose Museum of Art’s 35th anniversary.
The other exhibition, “Still in Motion,” features work by four contemporary recipients of the Calder Prize, an award given biennially to artists whose innovative work reflect’s Calder’s legacy. The artists featured in the show are Tara Donovan, Jill Magid, Tomás Saraceno and Aki Sasamoto. They’re all stunning in their own way — with some definite Calder DNA showing in some — but the talker may be Magid’s “Hand-hacked Bouquet 1,” — an NFT of flowers “picked” from video games on a video monitor with sound.
Both shows open Friday with a celebration from 6 to 9 p.m., including a members’ reception from 6-7 p.m. Admission to the museum is free on Friday starting at 6 p.m., and you can get more information at www.sjmusart.org.
VIVA CALLE RETURNS: Six miles of streets of San Jose will be closed to cars — and open to bikes, walkers, runners and skateboarders — on Sunday for this year’s third edition of Viva CalleSJ.
The route this time, “Parks to Roses,” stretches from Roosevelt Park on Santa Clara and 19th streets through downtown to the Municipal Rose Garden and Japantown. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and, as usual, there will be several points along the route where vehicles can pass through.
There’ll be a lot going on along the route, like BMX stunt riders at San Jose City Hall, karaoke in front of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ Community Center on The Alameda and Pro Wrestling Revolution shows at the intersection of Race Street and The Alameda.
Bands and DJs will provide entertainment at Roosevelt Park, St. James Park, the Municipal Rose Garden and Japantown, where there will also be food trucks and free bike repair stations. Get more information at
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
