Spoonbridge and Cherry — Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen · Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA · 1985–1988
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-highsm-12674 (public domain), the same photo as in the Street Art Utopia post. Full photograph shown.
Spoonbridge and Cherry is Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s giant spoon with a red cherry in its bowl, a fountain-sculpture in a small pond in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, across the street from the Walker Art Center. Walker Art Center: collection record · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Checked It was the first work commissioned for the garden and has stood there since the garden opened in 1988; in May 2025 crews were repainting the spoon in place. KSTP, 6 May 2025 · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks · Minnesota Star Tribune, 24 May 2025 Checked
4 things to know
- The garden’s first commissionMeet Minneapolis says it was the first commissioned piece for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, in 1985, made by Claes Oldenburg, “a key voice in the 1960s Pop Art movement”, and his wife and artistic collaborator, Coosje van Bruggen. KSTP says it debuted at the garden in 1988, when the garden opened. Meet Minneapolis: landmarks · KSTP, 6 May 2025 Checked
- A spoon like a boatAccording to Meet Minneapolis, the fountain-sculpture was designed, with Minnesota in mind, to be reminiscent of the prow of a Viking ship or a duck bobbing in a lake. Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Reported
- Built to take a beatingThe 1,200-pound aluminum cherry is bolted to the spoon, with water lines running to its stem. The Walker’s Joe King told KSTP that it faces temperature swings of about 120 degrees over a year and is submerged in water for eight months a year, when the fountain is running. KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 · CBS Minnesota, 18 Feb 2022 Checked
- A fresh coat every few yearsThe Walker last repainted it in place in 2006 and took the cherry off for a thorough overhaul in 2009. The cherry went to a paint shop in New York in November 2021 and was bolted back on in February 2022. The spoon was repainted in 2017 and again in May 2025. Walker Art Center, 17 Feb 2009 · KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 · CBS Minnesota, 18 Feb 2022 · Minnesota Star Tribune, 24 May 2025 · KSTP, 6 May 2025 Checked
Where it is
- 📍
- In a small pond in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, across the street from the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; about 44.97028, -93.28914. Meet Minneapolis: landmarks · OpenStreetMap: Spoonbridge and Cherry Checked
- 👀
- Look for the tilted bowl of the spoon resting on a grassy island, the red cherry on top and the long handle arching over the water; it is clearly visible from the garden’s paths, as in Street View from October 2012. Google Street View, Oct 2012 Checked
- 🗓️
- Meet Minneapolis says the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is free. Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Checked
Sightings
- 1988
Debuted as the garden opened
- 200917 Feb
Cherry off for an overhaul
- 2012Oct
Street View
- 202218 Feb
Cherry bolted back on
- 20256 May
Spoon repaint begins
- 202524 May
Spoon repainted in place
Every stamp links to its source. The amber stamps are records and announcements: KSTP’s note that the sculpture debuted in 1988 when the garden opened, the Walker’s post of 17 February 2009 that the cherry was about to leave for recoating, and KSTP’s report of 6 May 2025 that work on the spoon had started. The green stamps show it in place: Google Street View imagery dated October 2012, CBS Minnesota’s report of the cherry being bolted back onto the spoon on 18 February 2022, and the Minnesota Star Tribune’s report of 24 May 2025 on the spoon being repainted where it stands.
On the record
How do you paint a giant spoon? At the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, very carefully.
“The challenging part of this particular job is the scale, the size of it,” said Alex Obney, owner of Fine Art Finishes.
Cherry returns to Spoonbridge; inside its months-long restoration story
“Anytime you’re moving what is seen by some to be an icon of Minneapolis, it’s nerve-wracking,” declares Joe King, the director of collections and exhibition management at Walker Art Center.
The facts
- Title
- Spoonbridge and Cherry. Walker Art Center: collection record Checked
- Artists
- Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, his wife and artistic collaborator. Walker Art Center: collection record · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Checked
- Date
- 1985–1988 according to the Walker; commissioned in 1985 as the garden’s first commission, and unveiled in 1988 when the garden opened. Walker Art Center: collection record · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks · KSTP, 6 May 2025 · KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 Checked
- Materials
- Aluminum, stainless steel and paint. Walker Art Center: collection record Checked
- Size
- 354 × 618 × 162 inches overall (about 29.5 × 51.5 × 13.5 feet); Meet Minneapolis rounds the spoon to 52 feet long. Walker Art Center: collection record · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Checked
- Cherry
- Aluminum, about 1,200 pounds, bolted to the spoon. KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 · CBS Minnesota, 18 Feb 2022 · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks Checked
- Fountain
- Water runs through the cherry’s stem; the Walker says the sculpture is submerged in water for eight months a year when the fountain is running (2022), and in 2009 spoke of 18 hours of water per day. KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 · Walker Art Center, 17 Feb 2009 Checked
- Owner
- Walker Art Center, accession number 1988.385: gift of Frederick R. Weisman in honor of his parents, William and Mary Weisman, 1988. Walker Art Center: collection record Checked
- Upkeep
- Repainted in place in 2006; cherry removed for restoration in 2009; cherry repainted in New York from November 2021 and reinstalled in February 2022; spoon repainted in 2017 and in May 2025. Walker Art Center, 17 Feb 2009 · KSTP, 18 Feb 2022 · CBS Minnesota, 18 Feb 2022 · Minnesota Star Tribune, 24 May 2025 · KSTP, 6 May 2025 Checked
- Place
- Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis, Minnesota; 44.97028, -93.28914 (the centre of the work as mapped on OpenStreetMap). OpenStreetMap: Spoonbridge and Cherry · Meet Minneapolis: landmarks · Google Street View, Oct 2012 Checked
- Status
- Standing: the Minnesota Star Tribune reported on 24 May 2025 that the spoon was being repainted in place. Minnesota Star Tribune, 24 May 2025 · KSTP, 6 May 2025 Checked
- Our photo
- By Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-highsm-12674, public domain. We found no date for the photo. Library of Congress: Carol M. Highsmith photo Checked
Related
- Only in America (11 Photos vol. 3): the SAU collection with Spoonbridge and Cherry and other giant, unlikely sights from across the United States
All sources (11)
Official
- Walker Art Center: “Spoonbridge and Cherry”, collection record. Artists, 1985–1988, aluminum, stainless steel and paint, 354 × 618 × 162 inches, accession 1988.385, credit line.
- Walker Art Center: “The Cherry is going on vacation”, 17 February 2009. Cherry off for recoating; last repainted in place in 2006; 18 hours of water per day.
- Meet Minneapolis: “Minneapolis Landmarks”. 52-foot spoon, 1,200-pound cherry, first commission for the garden in 1985, Viking ship or duck design; the garden is free.
Press
- Minnesota Star Tribune: “How do you paint a giant spoon? At the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, very carefully.”, 24 May 2025. Spoon repainted in place; last repainted in 2017; hairline cracks smoothed out.
- KSTP: “An iconic sculpture is getting a fresh coat of paint”, 6 May 2025. Spoon work under way, due to finish 23 May; debuted in 1988 as the garden’s first commission.
- KSTP: “Cherry returns to Spoonbridge; inside its months-long restoration story”, 18 February 2022. Cherry repainted in New York and reinstalled; 1,200-pound aluminum cherry; first unveiled in 1988.
- CBS Minnesota: “Cherry Returns To Position Atop Spoonbridge In Minneapolis Sculpture Garden”, 18 February 2022. Cherry reunited with the spoon after about three months away.
Photos
- Library of Congress: Spoonbridge and Cherry, photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, LC-DIG-highsm-12674, public domain. Our hero photo.
- Google Street View, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, October 2012. The sculpture in its pond.
Records
- OpenStreetMap: Spoonbridge and Cherry (way 574151474). Outline and position of the work, artists, start date 1988.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: “Only in America (11 Photos vol. 3)”. The SAU post with this photo.
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