Discover a brooch that resembles a crop circle, earrings that seem to defy gravity, and a mobile necklace called “The Jealous Husband” at the Calder Jewelry Exhibition.

There’s a new jewel in Balboa Park. Actually, there are 90 of them – necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings, and tiaras, all created by renowned American sculptor Alexander Calder. After traveling across the country, Calder’s collection will land in San Diego and be displayed in a special exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) from July 25 through January 3.

This is not your grandmother's jewelry. Calder’s pieces are creations of wearable art, hammered and chiseled out of brass, silver, gold, non-precious materials and even found objects like ceramic pottery.

Calder’s winning combo is the jewelry’s juxtaposition of utilitarian materials and simple, delicate design, resulting in pieces that encase the body like some kind of otherworldly armor. A brass wire necklace covers the throat and chest like a soft collar would. The ultimate charm bracelet is laden with curlicue brass spirals that hang, like smiling mustaches, from a simple yet sturdy band. The piece marked “Necklace” does not simply encircle the neck but the entire torso, swooping down and climbing up the body like brass spiral flames.

It took guts to wear these pieces, and those who did wear them – Calder's family and friends, and such American icons as Georgia O'Keeffe and Anjelica Huston – usually received them as gifts from Calder himself.

About Alexander Calder
Born into a family of artists, Calder was exposed to sculpture at an early age when he posed for his father’s piece The Man Cub, which now stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He worked as an engineer before creating his first wire sculpture at age 27. Ignoring his parents’ discouragement from the poor life of an artist, Calder experimented with abstractionism and created a type of sculpture no one had ever seen before, that incorporated joints and parts that moved on their own with the slightest air current. He coined the term “mobiles” to label this new and unusual sculptural concept. The mobile pops up often in Calder’s jewelry.

Whether you’re a surrealist or an Elizabeth Taylor, the Calder Jewelry Exhibition at SDMA will be a treat for anyone who appreciates truly original design. Get details here.

Insider Tip: Along with the opening of the jewelry exhibition, Calder's large iron sculpture "Spinal Column" will be installed at the front of the museum.

Discover more art exhibits in our San Diego event calendar.