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The Swiss-born German artist Paul Klee (1879-40) drew and painted compositionally sophisticated scenes, sometimes with a childlike whimsical quality, while the American artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) pioneered three-dimensional work, particularly the kinetic sculptures he called “mobiles” and his large, standing “stabiles.”
The combination of two beloved artists is a surefire crowd-pleaser, but “Enchanted Reverie: Klee and Calder” is also noteworthy for its installation, with dark gray walls and elaborate lighting that enliven the art and cast dramatic shadows. Featuring more than 40 works, it is on view through June 8. The dealer Emmanuel Di Donna wanted to draw out the connections between the two artists, who both had a talent for concision as well as a playful side. “They had a shared sensitivity,” Di Donna said. “They’re both looking for something beyond nature — all the way to the cosmos.” He added, “They rhyme.”
The show features loans from both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Originally it was going to have an explicit underwater garden theme, but then Di Donna expanded it to include other works. Traces of that idea remain, with both artists depicting fish as only they could. In one of Klee’s aquatic-themed works, the watercolor “Fische in der Tiefe (Fish in the Deep)” (1921), multiple fish eyes look out at the viewer. Calder returned to the fish form again and again throughout his career, including in the red mobile “Le Poisson de huit heures” (1965), made of sheet metal and wire. As he prepared for the show to open in April, Di Donna gently blew on “Poisson” and it performed on cue, doing a delicately turning dance in response — a perfect bit of inspiration for art lovers who want to get in the swim of things this spring.