Calder, BODE and Whitney Museum of American Art

High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, on view until 9th March 2026 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in NY, celebrates the centennial of one of Alexander Calder’s most amazing creations, and one of the most beloved works in the the museum’s collection, Cirque Calder (1926–31). On the occasion, the Estate of Alexander Calder has partnered with indie fashion brand BODE for an exclusive collection, and it’s amazing!

In 1926, while living in Paris, Calder began constructing his miniature, multi-act spectacle using humble materials, wire, fabric, cork, wood, string, and found objects, to create a lively cast of acrobats, animals, and performers including clowns, a sword swallower, and a ringmaster.

He brought these figures to life in performances staged for audiences of artists and friends such as Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Isamu Noguchi. Set to music, complete with lighting and Calder’s own narration, the performances could last up to two hours, representing a radical new form of performance art. Stored in a set of five suitcases, Calder’s Circus travelled with the artist and was performed on both sides of the Atlantic.

A touchstone for Calder’s artistic development, Calder’s Circus reveals his early fascination with movement, balance, suspense, and ephemerality, concepts that would shape his pioneering invention of the mobile and define his sculptural practice in the decades that followed.

This exhibition places the Circus within Calder’s experimental engagement with popular spectacle, tracing connections between its dynamic interplay and his later abstract works.

To mark the occasion, BODE has collaborated with the Calder Foundation and the Whitney Museum to create a series of custom pieces inspired by Calder’s Circus. Among the limited-edition items are a T-shirt printed with Calder’s 1926 identity card and an original French critic’s review of Calder’s Circus; hand-sewn brooches inspired by the Lion Tamer and Fanni, the Belly Dancer acts; and a wooden box modeled after the original suitcases used to store and transport Calder’s troupe.

The collection is available in exclusive quantities at Bode’s New York, Los Angeles, and Paris stores, as well as online at bode.com.

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