Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Few artists are able to work successfully on both large and small scales, but throughout his career Calder brilliantly moved from the miniature to the monumental and back again. This publication focuses on the enormous stabiles he created mostly for public places, as well as his elegant hanging mobiles in sheet metal, miniature standing mobiles, and chess sets, shedding light on the social and performative aspects of his work. Essays explore how Calder approached the effects of kinetics and space, solidity and transparency, stasis and activity, volume and void. The book also looks at how Calder's small-scale sculptures echoed the public spectacle of his larger pieces, creating a "private drama" that encouraged direct participation. Whatever the size, Calder's works employed movement and interaction in unpredictable ways, and this enlightening book helps readers appreciate the important continuity of his oeuvre.

Lying between deserts, mountain chains and seas, Iran developed a fascinating cultural landscape. 360 objects from the time of the first advanced civilisations during the 3rd millennium BC until the end of the Safavid Empire in the early 18th century illustrate the outstanding significance of Iran as the initiator and centre of intercultural exchange. Exquisite artworks from the Sarikhani Collection in London and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin invite visitors to embark on a journey in time through the cultural heritage of Iran. The highlights include the great pre-Islamic empires of the Achaemenids and the Sassanids, the establishment of a Persian-Islamic culture, the masterly artistic achievements of the 9th to the 13th centuries and the Golden Age of the Safavids. They are brought together as in a multifaceted kaleidoscope in the copious illustrations and provide insight into the art of the courts and the urban elites.