The Store

sculpture by Oldenburg

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July 14, 2026

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"The Store" was an exhibition by artist Claes Oldenburg in 1961, part of his "happenings". It was a collection of plaster replicas of everyday items like food and clothing, displayed in a rented storefront. This work is a key example of Pop art, a movement that drew inspiration from popular culture and commercial imagery. Oldenburg, a Swedish-born American artist, is renowned for his large-scale sculptures of ordinary objects, often rendered in soft, yielding materials that give them a human or even sexual quality. "The Store" exemplified Pop art's engagement with consumer goods and its aim to blur the lines between art and everyday life.12

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Claes Oldenburg
In 1960–61 he created The Store, a collection of painted plaster copies of food, clothing, jewelry, and other items. Renting an actual store, he stocked it with his constructions. In 1962 he began creating a series of “happenings”—i.e., experimental presentations involving sound, movement, objects, and people. For some of…
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In 1960–61 he created The Store, a collection of painted plaster copies of food, clothing, jewelry, and other items. Renting an actual store, he stocked it with his constructions. In 1962 he began creating a series of “happenings”—i.e., experimental presentations involving sound, movement, objects, and people. For some of…
Read More