In 1976 Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen joined forces on the installation of the 41-foot-tall Trowel I, 1971–76, for the grounds of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands. This marks the beginning of their collaboration on what van Bruggen was to call Large-Scale Projects. Oldenburg and van Bruggen married in 1977. Currently they live and work in lower Manhattan, New York, in California, and in the Loire Valley in France.

Like their works of art currently installed in the Museum’s Roof Garden, the artist team has transformed many everyday objects into large-scale sculptures that interact playfully with the landscape beyond the four walls of a museum or gallery. The artists choose the objects carefully through shared impressions of the proposed locations for their work. The team develops ideas through discussions and drawings. They then collaborate on the building of models, which are enlarged through factory procedures under their close supervision. Unlike most large outdoor works, these sculptures are brightly colored. The colors are formulated by van Bruggen. To date, forty such projects have been completed in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Did you know Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen have their own
Web site?

http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/index.htm#top

When you go to the site remember to check out the image gallery of their large-scale projects. You will see some of these when you do the activities in this Web feature. You can also find information regarding recent and current exhibitions of their works of art.