“Everything I do is completely original—I made it up when I was a kid.”
—Claes Oldenburg
From 1976 until 2009, Oldenburg made works of art with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. As working partners, they created numerous public sculptures, that were often inspired by small, everyday things such as a spoon, a lipstick, or a flashlight. By making gigantic sculptures of humble, commonplace objects and installing them in public places, Oldenburg and van Bruggen gave these small objects a new beauty and importance. These works are installed in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
See some of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s large-scale sculptures on their website
“I am for U.S. Government Inspected Art, Grade A art, Regular Price art, Yellow Ripe art, Extra Fancy art, Ready-to-eat art, Fully cleaned art, Spend less art, Eat better art, Ham art, pork art, chicken art, tomato art, banana art, apple art, turkey art, cake art, cookie art . . . ”
—Claes Oldenburg
As a young artist in the 1960s, Oldenburg was involved in an early type of performance art called Happenings. He started to experiment with soft sculpture as props for these performances. Soft sculptures were Oldenburg’s invention. His recreations of common household items and food soon linked him with Pop art.
“During the first two or three weeks in a new city, I try to visit as many places as possible and be taken around by people who live there and know the city. I listen to what they say about it. Also, I try to read every newspaper and magazine on sale. I sketch a lot. And I observe food.”
—Claes Oldenburg
