ST. LOUIS, MO.- Pulitzer Arts Foundation opened Calder Lightness, a pristine exhibition underscoring Alexander Calder’s profound impact on the sculptural medium through his iconic large-scale hanging mobiles, early stabiles, and standing mobiles, as well as his less familiar constellations. Guest curated by Carmen Giménez, known for her historic, 2003 exhibition Calder: Gravity and Grace at the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, it features sixteen pivotal works, presented in the Pulitzer’s spacious, light-filled upper level galleries. Installed to create for the viewer a full sensory experience of the artist’s masterful synthesis of line, brilliance, gravity, and movement, the exhibition highlights Calder’s distinct ability to effect spatial transformation through his seminal biomorphic abstractions.

The Pulitzer is also showing two solo exhibitions on the work of Richard Tuttle and Fred Sandback in its newly renovated lower level. The renovation, which began in September 2014, repurposes existing offices and storage space into 3,700 square feet of new public space, allowing the institution to present multiple exhibitions for the first time since the Tadao Ando-designed building opened in 2001. The two new galleries join 7,500 square feet of existing space.

Occupying one of the new galleries is Fred Sandback 64 Three-Part Pieces, a presentation of a series of important early sculptures. The series features three tightly drawn lines of yarn, which can be presented in sixty-four different configurations involving the walls and the floor. A U.S. debut, the series has not been shown since its 1975 premiere in Munich when only six of the sixty-four possible configurations were presented. The Pulitzer’s exhibition, curated by Tamara H. Schenkenberg, Associate Curator at the Pulitzer, includes twenty configurations—the most ever shown in the series. A new configuration will be installed each week throughout the run of the exhibition, which closes on September 12. Sandback’s drawings depicting all sixty-four iterations of the series also are on view, along with never-before exhibited preparatory sketches of the work.

Richard Tuttle Wire Pieces is being presented in the second gallery in the new lower level. Featuring approximately fourteen wire pieces first made in 1972, the exhibition explores the artist’s use of line and volume to form a multi-layered sculptural experience. Installed by Tuttle, the exhibition is a rare opportunity to see these works. The tightly focused exhibition, which is curated by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Chair of Pulitzer Arts Foundation, in close association with the artist, reflects Tuttle’s career-long exploration of spatial relationships, often with minimal materials.

“In the years since we opened our Tadao Ando-designed building, we have expanded our role within the community and participated in the evolution of Grand Center as a cultural destination in St. Louis,” said Mrs. Pulitzer. “Our renovation, which has converted the lower level of our building into two new publicly accessible galleries, reflects our continued commitment to providing our audiences with a range of innovative arts experiences. The new galleries will allow us to present a growing array of exhibitions and programs.”