Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish-born American sculptor known for his innovative and humorous reconstructions of everyday objects in both large-scale public installations and soft materials. Along with Tom Wesselmann, Jasper Johns, and Allan Kaprow, Oldenburg is associated with the Pop Art movement. “Because my work is naturally non-meaningful, the meaning found in it will remain doubtful and inconsistent—which is the way it should be,” he explained of his work. “All that I care about is that, like any startling piece of nature, it should be capable of stimulating meaning.” Born on January 28, 1929 in Stockholm, Sweden, his family moved to America in 1936. Oldenburg went on to study at Yale University before working...