Soft sculpture is a type of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

made using

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

foam rubber Foam rubber (also known as cellular rubber, sponge rubber, or expanded rubber) refers to rubber that has been manufactured with a foaming agent to create an air-filled matrix structure. Commercial foam rubbers are generally made of synthetic rub ...

, plastic, paper, fibres and similar material that are supple and nonrigid. They can also be made out of natural materials if combined to make a nonrigid object. Soft sculpture is an old German technique very popular in Japan with artists like

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attribute ...

boosting the heritages of this new and innovative medium for

interior designers Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. The technique was popularised in the 1960s by artists such as

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

and

. Claes Oldenburg and other members of the Art Pop Movement are accredited with the creation of soft sculpture. During this time period members of the Art Pop Movement created art with themes of the times such as pop culture, consumerism, and mass production. Oldenburg specifically would take average everyday items and make them larger than life; one of his most notable works of this time is the ''Floor Burger.'' The ''Floor Burger'' is primarily made out of canvas filled with rubber foam and cardboard. It contains a large hamburger patty nestled in the middle of two tan buns with a pickle for garnish on the top. Yayoi Kusama also is responsible for the rise of soft sculpture in the 1960s, although she believes that Claes Oldenburg copied some of her pieces. One of her most popular soft sculpture works is entitled ''Accumulation No. 1.'' Kusama hand sewed and painted projections she called "phalluses," and placed them on an armchair. After this works first exhibition, people were surprised that Kusama had sexualized an everyday object. Soft sculpture was also a key feature during the 1970s in Post-Minimalist art. Artists during this time would create sculptures using materials that they had around them. A key artist during this time was

Eva Hesse Eva Hesse (January 11, 1936 – May 29, 1970) was a German-born American sculptor known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. She is one of the artists who ushered in the postminimal art movement in the 196 ...

. One of Eva's most popular works does not have a title. It is composed of latex, string, rope and wire suspended from the ceiling. The following is a list of selected artists who have worked with soft sculpture: *

Magdalena Abakanowicz Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska (20 June 1930 – 20 April 2017) was a Polish sculptor and fiber artist. She was known for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium and her outdoor installations. She is widely regarded as one of Poland ...

Lynda Benglis Lynda Benglis (born October 25, 1941) is an American sculptor and visual artist known especially for her wax paintings and poured latex sculptures. She maintains residences in New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kastellorizo, Greece, and Ahmeda ...

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

* Isabelle de Borchgrave * Serena ChaCha *

Jann Haworth Jann Haworth (born 1942) is a British-American pop artist. A pioneer of soft sculpture, she is best known as the co-creator of The Beatles' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover. Haworth is also an advocate for feminist rights ...

* Mark Jenkins * Joel Jones *

Dylan Jones Dylan John Jones OBE (born 1960) is an English journalist and author. He served as editor of the UK version of men's fashion and lifestyle magazine '' GQ'' from 1999 to 2021. He has held senior roles with several other publications, including e ...

* Polly Alice McCann *

Annette Messager Annette Messager (born 30 November 1943) is a French visual artist. In 2005 she won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale for her artwork at the French Pavilion. In 2016, she won the prestigious Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award. ...

* Robert Morris *

Senga Nengudi Senga Nengudi (née Sue Irons; born September 18, 1943) is an African Americans, African-American visual artist and curator. She is best known for her abstract sculptures that combine found objects and choreographed performance. She is part of a ...

* Susan Mohl Powers *

Xavier Roberts Xavier Roberts (born October 31, 1955 in Cleveland, Georgia) is best known for Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, once immensely popular soft sculpted dolls based upon a design originally created by Martha Nelson Thomas. Early life When Xavier Robe ...

Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold (born October 8, 1930 in Harlem, New York City) is an American painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist, best known for her narrative quilts. Early life Faith Ringgold was born the youngest of three child ...

Richard Serra Richard Serra (born November 2, 1938) is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings. Serra's sculptures are notable for their material quality and exploration of ...

* Marjorie Strider *

Lucy Sparrow Lucy Sparrow (born 8 July 1986) is a contemporary artist originating from Bath, England. She works at the intersection of contemporary art and craft setting the agenda for textiles within the urban art scene. She works mainly with felt and wool ...

Do-ho Suh Do Ho Suh (hangul: 서도호, born 1962) is a Korean sculptor and installation artist. He also works across various media, including paintings and film which explore the concept of space and home. His work is particularly well known in relation t ...

Martha Nelson Thomas Martha Nelson Thomas (born Martha Marie Nelson, November 29, 1950 – May 26, 2013) was an American folk artist, known for her work in soft sculpture. Thomas was the creator of "Doll Babies," later plagiarised as Cabbage Patch Kids. Biography M ...

Megan Whitmarsh Megan Whitmarsh (born 1972 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American artist living in Los Angeles, California. Whitmarsh received an MFA from the University of New Orleans and a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, both in painting. Working pre ...

References

External links

* http://www.nga.gov.au/EXHIBITION/softsculpture/
Blick Art Materials Lesson Plan about soft sculptureAn Exhibition (SoftSculpture) at the National Gallery of Australia - 24 April – 12 July 20095 sculpture artists using textile techniques
Sculpture Crafts {{Art-technique-stub