Claes Oldenburg - "Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti," 1993

Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti, 1993; Relief print on Kozo paper; Initialed CO and dated '93 in pencil bottom right and numbered 38/50 in pencil lower left; Published by Michael Ovitz, Los Angeles; Catalog Raisonne: A. & P. 247; Framed matted and floated with acid free mats, a wood frame, and plexiglass; Size - Sheet 24" x 18", Frame 30" x 24".

The famed Pop Artist Claes Oldenburg has always been attracted to food as subject matter.  From his large scale and soft sculptures, to his work in the print medium; his interpretations of food have become some of the most recognizable works of art from the last century.  Often lacking in the discussion of his work is his extraordinary skill as a draftsman.  His lines are so beautifully rendered that they can convey movement or scale with an ease and a simplicity.  In this work, the fork is not stagnant but rather in motion. The first word in the title of this work is "twirling" and this is instantly seen with the lines around the top of the fork, as well as the way in which the food on it's tines is rendered.  The meatball and spaghetti are all a whirl, as the fork is spinning in order to keep the food all together!

Close up of the edition number.

"I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and extends and accumulates and spits and drips, and is heavy and coarse and blunt and sweet and stupid as life itself."

Claes Oldenburg. 

Close up of the initials and the date.

Photograph of the framed Oldenburg, "Twirling Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti," 1993.

#Oldenburg #ClaesOldenburg #TwirlingFork #Popart #meatballandspaghetti #untitledartgallery