Screwarch

1982
modern art

Claes Oldenburg became impressed with the Dutch landscape, the harbour city of Rotterdam and the bridge during a stay in the Netherlands. Rotterdam's plans for the construction of a bridge over the New Maas were the inspiration for this sculpture. For the New Maas he imagined a bridge in the shape of a gigantic screw. The museum director at the time - Wim Beeren - reached an agreement with Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen in 1978 that they would turn this idea into a model, an etching and a large sculpture for the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The screw sculpture would not turn out to be as large as a bridge over the New Maas, but it was made to a size that would precisely fit in the museum. The screw bridge was exhibited in the museum in 1983. It was quickly decided, however, that the work would be given a permanent place in the museum's sculpture garden. Claes Oldenburg himself chose this place next to the pond, which in his eyes suited the sculpture the best.

Audio & Video

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The Screwbow by Claes Oldenburg Duration: 01:30
Pop Art

object data

about the maker

Claes Oldenburg

Stockholm 1929

Claes Oldenburg is of Swedish origin and studied art and literature at Yale University and subsequently, from 1950 to 1954, at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Objects from everyday life, such as food, vehicles and pieces of clothing, have been important subjects for the work of Claes Oldenburg from the very beginning of his career. He made plaster models of food and made hard objects like a sink or a bath in soft materials such as rubber. In 1961 he opened his studio in New York to the public and called it 'The Store'. He presented his art works there as if they were on sale in a supermarket. He later worked together with his wife, the Dutch artist Coosje van Bruggen. They primarily made large sculptures for public spaces, such as parks, squares and, like the screw bridge for Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, in and around museums.