Claes oldenburg

“I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something more than sit on its ass in a museum.” Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) is a Swedish-born American artist who is best known for sculptures and drawings that disrupt our expectations of how ordinary objects “behave,” with everyday items that are presented on a magnified scale which reverses the traditional relationship between viewer and object. His work embodies his irreverent sense of humor and fascination with American consumerism, qualities which have also pervaded his performances, drawings, writings, and famous “soft sculptures” — cushiony, unserious objects that resemble diner foods and other symbols of Americana. Oldenburg’s work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Modern Museet, and the Centre Pompidou.