Koons’ bronze Lifeboat appears to float, with Calder’s Seagull and Seal “frolicking above and beside” it, adding to the whimsical nautical feel. The uncanny weightlessness of Koons’ suspended basketballs in Three Ball Total Equilibrium Tank share kinship with the orange paddle balanced with unbelievable precision in Calder’s Orange Under Table. Darling says the interplay between works “is super formal in some cases,” such as shared colors, but “also very playfully literal” in his thematic pairing of works. “I wanted to take a risk and be silly so that visitors might also put their guard down and enjoy the works individually and together.”
Heaven and Earth: Alexander Calder and Jeff Koons is on view in the McCormick Tribune Orientation Gallery on the MCA Chicago’s second floor until December 16, 2018.
Visit https://mcachicago.org for more information, or to purchase tickets.