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Claes Oldenburg — Proposal for a Colossal Structure in the Form of a Clothspin - Compared to Brancusi's Kiss
Claes Oldenburg — Proposal for a Colossal Structure in the Form of a Clothspin - Compared to Brancusi's Kiss
Claes Oldenburg — Proposal for a Colossal Structure in the Form of a Clothspin - Compared to Brancusi's Kiss
Claes Oldenburg

Proposal for a Colossal Structure in the Form of a Clothspin - Compared to Brancusi's Kiss

1972

This 1972 screenprint by Claes Oldenburg presents a whimsical yet thought provoking proposal for a colossal clothspin monument, deliberately comparing it to Constantin Brancusi's abstract sculpture Kiss. The work exemplifies Oldenburg's playful approach to public art by elevating an ordinary everyday object to monumental status worthy of fine art consideration. The screenprint format allows for vibrant color saturation that emphasizes the pop art sensibility of the composition. By juxtaposing the clothspin with Brancusi's refined modernist work, Oldenburg challenges conventional hierarchies of artistic subject matter and taste. The proposal format invites viewers to imagine this humorous yet serious intervention in the urban landscape.

Medium
screenprint in colors on Arches
Dimensions

Notes

Signed and numbered to lower margin ‘HC 6 Oldenburg’. This work is hors commerce 6 apart from the edition of 200 printed by Chromacomp Inc., New York and published by Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Provenance: Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles | Private Collection

🔨 Auction Lot

Editions & Works on Paper

April 16, 2026

Estimate: $1,000$1,500

Lot 186

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Spotted works by Claes Oldenburg

About this work

Claes Oldenburg, Proposal for a Colossal Structure in the Form of a Clothspin - Compared to Brancusi's Kiss, 1972

This 1972 screenprint by Claes Oldenburg presents a whimsical yet thought provoking proposal for a colossal clothspin monument, deliberately comparing it to Constantin Brancusi's abstract sculpture Kiss. The work exemplifies Oldenburg's playful approach to public art by elevating an ordinary everyday object to monumental status worthy of fine art consideration. The screenprint format allows for vibrant color saturation that emphasizes the pop art sensibility of the composition. By juxtaposing the clothspin with Brancusi's refined modernist work, Oldenburg challenges conventional hierarchies of artistic subject matter and taste. The proposal format invites viewers to imagine this humorous yet serious intervention in the urban landscape.

Medium
screenprint in colors on Arches
Dimensions
54.3 x 34.9 cm
Year
1972
Seen at
Wright, Chicago, United States

Related themes

Modernist Comparison, Playful Comparison, Conceptual Architecture, Scaled Enlargement, Everyday Items, Domestic Objects, Scale Transformation, Modernist Critique, Colossal Sculpture, Screenprint Colors, Monumental Proposal, Pop Art, Humorous Monument, Everyday Objects, Urban Intervention, Colossal Structure, Conceptual Proposal, Public Installation, Public Art Proposal

More works by Claes Oldenburg

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago