Edward Ralph Kienholz was an American installation artist and assemblage sculptor whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he assembled much of his artwork in close collaboration with his artistic partner and fifth wife, Nancy Reddin Kienholz. Throughout much of their career, the work of the Kienholzes was more appreciated in Europe than in their native United States, though American museums have featured their art more prominently since the 1990s.
Kienholz in 1965
Sollie 17, mixed media construction by Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz (1979-80, Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Interior view of The Beanery (1965, restored 2012; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2013 photo)
Edward Kienholz photographed by Lothar Wolleh, 1970
Assemblage is an artistic form or medium usually created on a defined substrate that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out of or from the substrate. It is similar to collage, a two-dimensional medium. It is part of the visual arts and it typically uses found objects, but is not limited to these materials.
Johann Dieter Wassmann (Jeff Wassmann), Vorwarts! (Go Forward!), 1897 (2003).
John Chamberlain, S, 1959, in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Werner Stürenburg, Nr. 5, 1968
Lubo Kristek, Soundproof Aesthetic of Luxuriety, 1976