was a visionary sculptor known for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. A defining figure in the Pop Art movement, Oldenburg rose to prominence in the late 1950s with work that challenged expectations of form, function, and meaning. He often reimagined everyday objects—burgers, tools, lipstick tubes—at colossal scale, injecting humor and absurdity into public and gallery spaces alike. For Oldenburg, art was a form of radical play and subversion, a way to question what art is and who it’s for.

His sculptures blurred the boundary between high and low, serious and silly. As he once put it, he sought “an art that clobbers you.” Art that engages directly, playfully, physically.

Oldenburg shared a long and meaningful friendship with John and Kimiko Powers, marked by personal visits, artistic collaboration, and heartfelt exchanges. Upon John’s passing in 1999, Oldenburg wrote:

“John Powers blowing his saxophone in his beloved Rockies, Mount Sopris never out of sight... a lover of art who understood that art is to be lived with... and must be shared.”

During his 1967 residency at the Aspen Center for Contemporary Art, Oldenburg crafted a now-legendary soft-sculpture baseball bat for a mock game between musicians and artists. The bat flopped mid-swing, to everyone’s delight, and was later gifted to the Powers as a whimsical emblem of that summer’s joy.

The bat, along with other notable Oldenburg works, is featured in In the Living Room with John and Kimiko at the Powers Art Center.