EL SOURDOG HEX is presenting the works of Claes Oldenburg from the 9th of January until the 23rd of February 2008.

Originally from Sweden, American Claes Oldenburg, is among those artists who refuse to use a consistent style. He believes that varying one's means of expression is a crucial part of relating art to reality. Claes Oldenburg built monumental-sized sculptures of everyday objects of mass consumption such as his tube of Lipstick located at Yale University, New Haven.

After graduating from Yale University in New Haven, he worked in Chicago as a journalist for different newspapers and agencies. In 1956, he left for New York, where he was active in abstract expressionism. Urban life was the first clear theme in his art. In 1958, he made his first papier-mâché-and-trash sculptures, which were reminiscent of Dada works. Brightly colored environments were evident in works such as The Store, The Street. In 1959, Oldenburg worked with Allan Kaprow and Jim Dine to organize happenings, which accounted for the most important part of The Store. The Store's environment contains numerous everyday objects, like the "White Shirt," "Green Legs" and the "Success Plant." In December of 1961, he used his studio in New York to set up The Store for the first time.
"With his bare hands, he was able to cause a miraculous transformation of ready-made objects, changing not only their appearance but also their very content in a way that was entirely unconnected to surrealism." (DuMont's Art Lexicon of the 20th Century, Karin Thomas, 2006)
"With his objects and actions, he satirizes convention, greediness and the 'flowery language' of modern consumerism, but not without taking a stab at traditional art values." (U. Wilmes, Museum Ludwig DUMONT, 2006)
He then began to sculpt edible things like "hamburgers", ice cream or cake slices, following this work with so-called "soft objects." In 1965, he began to draft replicas of colossal proportion. Since 1976, he has worked on projects with Coosje von Bruggen. Using language that is both headstrong and to-the-point, Oldenburg is one of the main representatives of pop art. His sculptures have much in common with Dadaism and are characterized by over-arching themes and intricate shapes. He turns to typical pop-art subject matter yet uses the language of high art. Claes Oldenburg is undoubtedly one of the most popular and most successful pop artists in the New York art world.

"I am for an art that takes its form directly from life. An art that winds and expands… and is heavy and rough and coarse and sweet and silly like life itself…" Claes Oldenburg (Tilman Osterworld, Pop Art)

Exhibition:
January 9th – February 23th, 2008
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm
Admission is free