Calderesque Mobiles

Artist and sculpter Alexander Calder was moved by the notion of composing art as motion. Balanced with that was an awareness of space and transparency which challenged the prevailing ideal of sculpture as voluminous and massive. Working with wire, metal -- and indeed most any material -- Calder succeeded in creating both "mobiles" (a word coined in his honor) and "stabiles," -- abstract sculptures that moved -- or not.

Contemporary artist Rick Bissellstudied Calder's drawings and techniques and creates a series of abstract mobiles and stabiles that are both playful and organic. Like Calder, Bissell primarily stays with metal and wire (coated in acrylic paint), although he has experimented with wood, polymer clay and paper.

Both men were trained as mechanical engineers. "Math and engineering principals play a significant part of the design and construction process," he tells us.

Alexander Calder's drawings (shown at top: Calder's "Horizontal Spines") inspired Rick Bissell's "Nautilus."