Balzac Pétanque
Claes Oldenburg
American, born Sweden, 1929 – 2022

Details
Title
Balzac Pétanque
Artist/Maker
Claes Oldenburg (American, born Sweden, 1929 – 2022)
Date
2002
Medium
Fiber-reinforced plastic, cast epoxy, and stainless steel, painted with polyester gelcoat
Dimensions
102 x 300 x 444 inches
Credit
Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. J. Mack Robinson
Accession #
2002.259.1-39
Location
Currently not on view
Claes Oldenburg first came to international prominence in the early 1960s as one of the leaders of the Pop art movement. His transformations of common objects into droopy fabric sculptures or gargantuan monuments have captivated viewers for more than forty years. By creating a small disturbance in the form of toppled fruit, Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen invite viewers to discover the links between objects, emotions, and memory. In so doing, they make concrete the magic of moments that look both forward and back-in this case to still lifes of nineteenth-century France.
Image Copyright
© Oldenburg van Bruggen