Tom Otterness
1952–
Introduction
Tom Otterness (born 1952) is an American sculptor best known as one of America's most prolific public artists. Otterness's works adorn parks, plazas, subway stations, libraries, courthouses and museums around the world, notably in New York City's Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City and Life Underground in the 14th Street – Eighth Avenue New York Subway station. He contributed a balloon (a giant upside-down Humpty Dumpty) to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 1994 he was elected as a member of the National Academy Museum.
His style is often described as cartoonish and cheerful, but also political. His sculptures allude to sex, class, money and race. These sculptures depict, among other things, huge pennies, pudgy characters in business suits with moneybag heads, helmeted workers holding giant tools, and an alligator crawling out from under a sewer cover. His aesthetic can be seen as a riff on capitalist realism.
Known primarily as a public artist, Otterness has exhibited across the United States and internationally, including New York City, Indianapolis, Beverly Hills, The Hague, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Venice. His studio is located in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Wikidata identifier
Q1772326
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed March 30, 2024.
Roles
Artist, sculptor
ULAN identifier
500059388
Names
Tom Otterness
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed March 30, 2024.
28 works
-
Moneybag Man with Cellphone
1998 -
Untitled
1997 -
Untitled (Doublesided) III
1994 -
Senckenberg Study
1991 -
Untitled (The Tables)
1991 -
Sketch Book
1987–1988 -
Monument Study
1986 -
Beer Cans
1986 -
Cop Car
1986 -
Fly
1986 -
Heart
1986 -
Perspective Study
1986 -
Reptiles and Prey
1986 -
Tables (First Draft)
1986 -
Tables (Reptiles)
1986 -
Tables (Schematic)
1986 -
Untitled (Plate Study)
1986 -
Untitled (Table Study)
1986 -
Cops with Big Gun
1986 -
The Tables
1986–1987 -
Fatman
1985 -
The Misdirected Hero
1985 -
Untitled (Mexican Notebook)
1984 -
Untitled (Mexican Notebook)
1984 -
Untitled (Notebook Drawing)
1984 -
Mr. and Mrs.
1984 -
Baby and Globe
1982–1989 -
The Boating Party
1982–1991