The sculptural group called Bedroom Ensemble is a recently manufactured replica(two others were also made) of a work first installed in New York in 1964 atthe Sidney Janis Gallery. The dimensions of the space it occupies here arethose of the Janis Gallery.

The use of fake fur in Bedroom Ensemble was inspired by a motel in Malibu,California, that Oldenburg had seen as a teenager. The furniture in each suitewas upholstered in a particular animal skin.

The angular forms and artificialsurfaces of Bedroom Ensemble were fabricated according to the artist'sspecifications and represent a departure from the soft, handcrafted works ofthe previous years. The ostensibly rectangular bed, vanity, and ottoman areactually built on an angle, creating rhomboid shapes and converting the objectsinto abstracted forms. Bedroom Ensemble belongs to a larger group of worksbased on domestic objects that Oldenburg calls "The Home."

"Subject matter is not necessarily an obstacle to 'seeing' pure form and color. Since I am committed to openness, my works are constructed to perform in as many ways as anyone wants them to. Astime goes on and the things they 'represent' vanish from daily use, theirpurely formal character will be more evident: time will undress them.Meanwhile, they are sticky with associations."

--Oldenburg, 1967

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