Jeff Koons American, b. 1955
Overview
Split Rocker Vase, 2012
“I try to create work that doesn't make viewers feel they're being spoken down to, so they feel open participation,” -- JEFF KOONS
Jeff Koons is one of America’s most popular contemporary artists. His Neo-Pop aesthetics and wry appropriations of consumer objects, express a reverence for popular culture. He is perhaps best known for his oversized sculptures of kitschy souvenirs, toys, and ornaments that are bright and shiny, as seen in his Celebration (1994–2011) series. With his choice of materials, Koons lends a heft and permanence to otherwise ephemeral items. Koons studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York in the late 1970s, where he initially worked as a stock broker on Wall Street. He rose to fame in the 1980s, developing iconic works such as Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988), the Made in Heaven (1990–1991) series, and Puppy (1992), which has been installed in Sydney Harbour, Bilbao, and the Palace of Versailles. Always seeking new outlets for his creativity, in 2017, Koons teamed up with the luxury brand Louis Vuitton to produce an edition of bags printed with iconic European paintings. In 2019, his Rabbit sold for a record-breaking $91.1 million at Christie’s, making him the most expensive living artist at the time. The artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam, among others.
Works
-
Split Rocker Vase, 2012 -
Puppy (Vase), 1998
