Which artist is known for his mobiles?

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The artist known for his mobiles is Alexander Calder.

Calder was an American sculptor whose hanging kinetic sculptures became known as mobiles. They consist of balanced elements that move through air currents or gentle touch, creating constantly changing relationships among shape, color, light, and space. The term mobile was introduced by Marcel Duchamp in 1931 as a wordplay referring to movement.

Calder first experimented with motor-powered abstract sculptures, but he soon found that machines could make their movements repetitive. By the early 1930s, he developed suspended works that moved unpredictably with air and touch. These sculptures helped establish kinetic art as a major direction in modern sculpture because movement became part of the artwork rather than merely representing motion.

Calder also made large outdoor sculptures and static abstract works called stabiles, a name supplied by artist Jean Arp in 1932. His mobiles are often associated with brightly painted metal shapes, but his materials also included wire, wood, and found objects. Marcel Duchamp, Jean Tinguely, and Henry Moore were important artists, yet Calder is the canonical answer for mobiles.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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