Claes Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, but spent most of his childhood in the United States. He studied at Yale University and the Art Institute of Chicago, then moved to New York City in 1956. His installations and performances of the early 1960s employed ephemeral materials to create familiar objects. After making fantastic proposals for civic monuments, in 1969 he fabricated the controversial large scale Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, installed on the Yale campus, followed in 1976 by Clothespin for downtown Philadelphia. Since 1976 he has worked in partnership with Coosje van Bruggen. Together they have executed over forty large-scale projects internationally.
Terms
sculpture
American
graphic arts
Miscellaneous media
Sweden
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