Tag: Claes Oldenburg

‘Claes & Coosje: A Duet’ at Pace Gallery

Right after the giant fork holding spaghetti and a meatball, the monumental sculpture ‘Dropped Bouquet’ is an immediate draw in Pace Gallery’s new show of collaborative work by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen from the 80s onward.  Surrounded by lighthearted works evoking music (including canvas violas, lutes and a trumpet) and flying neckties and pieces of pie, the flowers elicit delight with their cheery color and disorienting scale.  (On view in Chelsea through May 1st.  Masks, social distancing and appointments are required.)

Oldenburg/van Bruggen, Dropped Bouquet, painted aluminum, 12’ 3” x 9’ 3” x 14’ 10”, 2021.

Sharon Core at Yancey Richardson Gallery

From a pastry case featuring a banana split crafted from burlap, plaster and paint to a monumental canvas hamburger, Claes Oldenburg’s sculpted foodstuffs are familiar favorite foods made alarming through their size and materials.   Photographer Sharon Core explores the attraction and repulsion of Oldenburg’s ‘60s classics (including the burger and ice cream) to great effect in her show at Chelsea’s Yancey Richardson Gallery by hand-crafting and photographing a selection of Oldenburg dishes using real food.  In contrast to perfectly-presented delectables commonly featured on social media, Core’s edible recreations of Oldenburg’s artworks initially attract, then repulse, questioning just what we want from food these days.  (On view through July 3rd).

Sharon Core, USA Flag, Fragment, archival pigment print, 40 x 50 7/8 inches, 2019.

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.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at Paula Cooper Gallery

Is Claes Oldenburg’s Stradivarius any more sophisticated than his giant, soft hamburger from the 60s? Together with his collaborator and wife Coosje van Bruggen, Oldenburg collected and displayed drawings and models for the couple’s large-scale outdoor sculptures around their homes and studio. A selection now on view at Paula Cooper Gallery testifies to their whimsical sense of humor and love of music. (In Chelsea through Dec 19th).

 Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Sliced Stradivarius – Rose, canvas, felt, wood, cord, hardware, painted with latex, 45 x 18 x 7 inches, 2003.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at Paula Cooper Gallery

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen’s ‘Soft Harp’ is a standout in Paula Cooper Gallery’s current exhibition of music-themed visual art. Despite being hung out as if on a wash line or strung across a flagpole, the instrument retains its elegance and beauty. (In Chelsea through May 31st).

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Soft Harp, Scale C, Harp Sail, wood, steel, aluminum, clothesline, feathers, latext paint, 1992.