Exhibition: Claes Oldenburg's Playful Pop Art Comes to Tokyo
Claes Oldenburg is known for transforming everyday objects —pretzels, erasers, drum sets—into oversized and surreal sculptures. He helped define the Pop Art movement alongside icons like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. This is his first major show in Tokyo since 1996.
The exhibition is curated by Pace CEO Marc Glimcher and Oldenburg's daughter Maartje. This & That brings together works spanning the 1960s to the mid-2000s, highlighting Oldenburg's fascination with multiplicity, material transformation and humor. From a knotted yellow trumpet to a vending-machine display of pretzel sculptures, the exhibition invites visitors into a world where the banal becomes bold and the familiar turns fantastical.
With subtle nods to Japanese culture —reflected in the exhibition's title いろいろ (Iroiro), meaning 'variety'—this show is both playful and deeply thoughtful. A standout for art lovers and the curious alike. This & That is a rare chance to experience the colorful genius of Oldenburg up close.
—just drop in between 11am and 8pm (closed Mondays).
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