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Soft-ground etching and aquatint in six colors “à la poupée” on cream, thick, slightly textured Arches paper. Signed by the artist with initials lower center in pencil, dated 1976 lower right in pencil, and annotated AP VIII/XII lower left in pencil.
The painterly, multicolored effect of this work is achieved by printing “à la poupée”, in which multiple colors can be applied to the plate for printing at one time. Oldenburg first printed in brown, and for the second plate, freely applied yellow, green, purple, blue, and light purple, producing an array of loosely sketched pastel confections.
Ice cream is a subject Claes Oldenburg has returned to again and again: from monumental sculptures of ice cream cones, to plaster parfaits, to countless drawings and designs. On his soft sculptures, he wrote: “Reversing the expectations of hard sculpture, these huge collapsing objects rely on gravity and chance for their final form.” The drooping edges of his soft sculptures connect to the unpredictably melting surface of ice cream, which he has explored viscerally through his dripped plaster ice cream sculptures. He has also written that “…eating is a form of sculpting.” Here Oldenburg offers viewers the next best thing – a feast for the eyes.
