Claes Oldenburg's This & That

In this series of films produced on the occasion of This & That—an exhibition of Claes Oldenburg's work on view at our Tokyo gallery through August 23, 2025—the artist's daughter Maartje Oldenburg discusses the themes and subjects that inspired her father’s lively sculptures. This final installment of the series centers on the artist's development of his Geometric Mouse, which took on many iterations over the course of his career. "The 'strange Mickey Mouse,' as my father sometimes called it, consists of two circles, a rectangle, and a nose that can also be a tail," Maartje Oldenburg says. "Evoking human and architectural characteristics, the eyes are shutters with chains weighted by teardrops." Watch two other installments from this film series—which explore Oldenburg's sculptures of desserts and musical instruments—on our digital channels.