About

Jeff Koons (born 1955) creatively challenges the limits of commerce, fame, banality, and pleasure. He gained recognition in the mid-1980s alongside a group of artists who delved into the essence of art in a media-rich world. Koons reimagines ordinary commercial or daily items as art icons through alluring materials, changes in scale, and contextual shifts. Noteworthy examples include his “Balloon Dog” sculptures (featuring large, shiny stainless steel dogs), his oversized vinyl “Inflatables,” and the massive “Split Rocker.” In “Puppy,” for instance, Koons blends historical and contemporary elements by referencing an eighteenth-century formal garden with a sugary touch of iconography.

Originally a commodities broker, Koons transitioned to an art career in the late 1970s, moving from Wall Street to a large studio in SoHo filled with hundreds of assistants. Since then, he has created several iconic series, such as “Pre-New,” which features domestic items in unusual arrangements, and “The Equilibrium,” showcasing basketballs suspended in tanks of distilled water. The “Banality” series, including pieces like “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” and “Woman in Tub,” is known for its strangely erotic, comic, and kitsch imagery. However, his most provocative and controversial work is the “Made in Heaven” series, where he explores the role of sexuality in visual culture. Koons is widely recognized as one of the most significant, influential, and controversial contemporary artists. He persistently pushes the boundaries between art and commerce, high culture and popular culture, and ready-made objects and art. By recontextualizing his subjects, he elevates them to iconic status. Jeff Koons’s work aims to move beyond the traditional realm of the genius artist into the sphere of contemporary pop and commercial culture.