Claes Oldenburg at Pace Gallery

Claes Oldenburg’s new sculptures remix objects familiar from his and parter Coosje van Bruggen’s career (a pencil once proposed as a New York monument, a banana skin flapping in the wind, yellow and brown potato chips). Collectively titled ‘Shelf Life,’ Oldenberg’s relatively small-scale assemblages beg the question of an idea’s staying power and continued relevance. (At Pace Gallery’s 24th Street location through Nov 11th).

Claes Oldenburg, Shelf Life Number 2, mixed media, 19 15/16 x 28 ¾ x 12 3/16 inches, 2016-17.

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Merrily Kerr

Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education. For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine. Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)