Jeff Koons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Koons
|
|
|---|---|
.JPG)
Koons in 2014
|
|
| Born |
Jeffrey Lynn Koons
January 21, 1955 York, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|
| Education | School of the Art Institute of Chicago Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore |
| Known for | Artist |
|
Notable work
|
Rabbit (1986) Puppy (1992) Balloon Dog (1994–2000) |
| Spouse(s) |
Ilona Staller
(m. 1991–1994)
|
Jeffrey Lynn Koons (born January 21, 1955) is an American artist. He is famous for his art that uses ideas from popular culture. He makes sculptures of everyday objects, like balloon animals. These are often made from shiny stainless steel.
Koons lives and works in New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His artworks have sold for very high prices. For example, his Balloon Dog (Orange) sold for US$58.4 million in 2013. His Rabbit sold for US$91.1 million in 2019. These were record prices for art by a living artist.
People have different opinions about Koons's art. Some think his work is very important in art history. Others think it is just "kitsch" (art that is seen as cheap or overly sentimental). Koons says his art does not have any hidden meanings.
Contents
- Early Life and Training
- How Koons Makes Art
- Exhibitions
- Recognition and Awards
- Art Market
- Art Style
- Impact and Influence
- Koons Family Institute
- Personal Life
- See also
Early Life and Training
Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955. His father sold furniture and decorated homes. His mother was a seamstress. When he was nine, his father would put copies of old paintings that Koons made in his shop window. This was to attract people. As a child, he also sold gift-wrapping paper and candy.
As a teenager, Koons admired the artist Salvador Dalí. He even visited Dalí in New York City. Koons studied painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. He also studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There, he met artist Ed Paschke, who became a big influence. Koons worked as Paschke's assistant.
After college, Koons moved to New York in 1977. He worked at the Museum of Modern Art. He also worked as a Wall Street broker for a few years. This helped him earn money while he started his art career.
How Koons Makes Art
After college, Koons moved to New York City. He started to explore art that looked at everyday objects, business, and politics. He became well-known in the mid-1980s. He was part of a group of artists who looked at what art meant in a world full of media.
Koons set up a large studio in New York City. It was like a factory, with over 30 assistants. Each assistant worked on a different part of his art. This was similar to how Andy Warhol worked in his "Factory." Koons uses a method called art fabrication. This means his art is made by skilled workers, not just by him.
Until 2019, Koons had a very large studio. It employed 90 to 120 assistants. Now, he uses more technology and has a smaller studio. He uses computers to create his art ideas. He also uses a "color-by-numbers" system. This helps his assistants make sure every piece looks consistent. Koons often explores themes like buying things, everyday life, and childhood in his art.
Early Works and Inflatables
Between 1977 and 1979, Koons made four artworks he called "Early Works." From 1978, he started his Inflatables series. These were inflatable flowers and a rabbit. They came in different sizes and colors and were placed with mirrors.
The Pre-New, The New, and Equilibrium Series
Since 1979, Koons has created art in different series. His early work included The Pre-New. This series featured everyday objects attached to light fixtures. This created new and unusual shapes.
Another series was The New. For this, Koons displayed vacuum cleaners in lighted clear boxes. He chose brands like Hoover. He first showed these pieces in a window at the New Museum in New York in 1980. The vacuum cleaners were shown like they were in a store. A red light box with "The New" written on it announced them.
The Equilibrium Series (1983) is another early work. It shows one to three basketballs floating in distilled water. Koons even worked with a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Richard Feynman, on this project. Some tanks were completely full, making the balls float in the middle. In others, the tank was half full, so the balls floated half in and half out. This series also included stacked sporting balls in glass cases. There were also posters of basketball stars and bronze objects that looked like life-saving gear.
Statuary Series
In 1986, Jeff Koons started the Statuary series. He remade his earlier inflatable works from the 1970s. This series showed how art can reflect how we see ourselves. It also showed how art can become decorative. The sculptures were inspired by historical figures and art.
Koons used everyday objects, like an inflatable rabbit. He then turned them into shiny, polished stainless-steel pieces. This led to his famous work, Rabbit (1986).
There are three identical versions of Rabbit. One is at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Another is at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles. In 2019, one version of Rabbit sold for US$91,075,000. This set a record for the most expensive artwork sold by a living artist.
A giant, metallic rabbit, over 50 feet tall, was used in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. It was later displayed in Toronto. Other objects in the Statuary series combine souvenirs with fancy art. This plays with the idea of "low art" versus "high art."
Banality Series
Koons then created the Banality series. For this, he worked with workshops in Germany and Italy. These workshops were skilled in working with ceramic, porcelain, and wood.
The series included Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988). This was a life-size, gold-plated porcelain statue of the singer cuddling Bubbles, his pet chimpanzee. One of these statues sold for US$5.6 million. Two are now in museums in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This statue has been shown in many exhibitions around the world.
Koons also placed "Art Magazine Ads" (1988–1989) in art magazines. These ads promoted his own art shows. He wanted to create a public image for himself as an artist.
Made in Heaven Series
In 1989, the Whitney Museum asked Koons to create an artwork about media. He made a billboard for a show called "Image World: Art and Media Culture." The billboard was an advertisement for a movie that was never made, called Made in Heaven.
Koons worked with his then-wife, Ilona Staller, on the Made in Heaven series (1990–1991). The paintings in this series were inspired by art from the Baroque and Rococo periods. The series was first shown at the 1990 Venice Biennale.
Puppy
In 1992, Koons was asked to create a piece for Arolsen Castle in Germany. The result was Puppy. This is a 43-foot tall sculpture of a West Highland White Terrier puppy. It is made from many different flowers, like Marigolds and Begonias. The flowers grow on a stainless steel frame with an internal watering system.
Koons wanted Puppy to communicate "warmth and love to people." In 1995, the sculpture was moved to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney in Australia. The Sydney version had about 60,000 plants.
In 1997, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation bought Puppy. It was installed outside the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. In 2000, the statue was temporarily shown at Rockefeller Center in New York City. A smaller porcelain version of Puppy was also made in 1998.
Celebration Series
.jpg)
Koons's Celebration series was started in 1994. It includes large sculptures and paintings of balloon dogs, Valentine hearts, diamonds, and Easter eggs. Some pieces are still being made. Each of the 20 sculptures comes in five different colors. His cracked Egg (Blue) won an award in 2008.
His work Tulips (1995–2004) is a huge bouquet of colorful balloon flowers. It is over 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall and 5 meters (16 feet) wide. Koons started working on Balloon Flower in 1995.
The Celebration series was very expensive to make. Collectors and art dealers helped fund the project. In 2006, Koons showed Hanging Heart, a 9-foot-tall shiny steel heart. This was also part of the Celebration series. Later additions include Balloon Swan (2004–2011) and Balloon Rabbit (2005–2010). These take children's party favors and turn them into huge, amazing art pieces. The series also includes sixteen oil paintings.
Easyfun and Easyfun-Ethereal
In 1999, Koons created the first seven paintings for his Easyfun series. These included paintings and sculptures for walls. In 2001, Koons made the Easyfun-Ethereal paintings. He used a collage style, combining images of bikinis, food, and landscapes. His assistants painted these under his direction. This series grew to include twenty-four paintings.
Split-Rocker
In 2000, Koons designed Split-Rocker. This is his second floral sculpture made of stainless steel and live flowers. It was first shown in France. Like Puppy, it is covered with about 27,000 live flowers.
Split-Rocker weighs 150 tons and is over 37 feet tall. It is made of two halves. One half is based on a toy pony belonging to one of Koons's sons. The other half is based on a toy dinosaur. Together, they form the head of a giant child's rocker. In summer 2014, Split-Rocker was displayed at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Popeye and Hulk Elvis Series
The Popeye series, which Koons started in 2002, features the cartoon characters Popeye and Olive Oyl. One piece is a stainless steel copy of a plastic Popeye figurine. The artist also used inflatable animals with ladders, trashcans, and fences. These sculptures are made by casting the toys in aluminum. Then they are painted to look shiny like the original inflatables.
Hulk Elvis is another series by Koons, made between 2004 and 2014. It includes bronze sculptures and large oil paintings. The title combines the comic book hero Hulk with the pop icon Elvis. The multiple images of the Hulk are like Andy Warhol's Triple Elvis paintings.
Koons says the Hulk Elvis series shows a "very high-testosterone body of work." He also sees it as a "bridge between East and West." This is because the Hulk is like Asian guardian Gods. Some sculptures in this series are very heavy, made of bronze and wood. Hulk (Organ) (2004–2014) is a sculpture that includes a working musical instrument.
The paintings in this series are collages made with computer layers. They show abstract landscapes, American symbols like trains and horses, and characters like the Hulk. The Hulk Elvis series has been shown in galleries around the world.
Antiquity Series
In 2008, Jeff Koons began his Antiquity series. This series looks at how beauty and fertility have been shown in art history. In the Antiquity paintings (2009–2013), a famous ancient sculpture is at the center of each scene. The backgrounds are detailed, showing peaceful landscapes.
Koons uses modern technology, like CT scans, to make his metal sculptures. He reinterprets old figures by making balloon-like sculptures. An example is Metallic Venus (2010–2012). It is made of shiny stainless steel with a colored coating and live flowers.
In Ballerinas (2010–2014), Koons shows dancer figurines. These are based on porcelain works by Ukrainian artist Oksana Zhnikrup. Koons makes them very large, like classical sculptures.
Gazing Ball Series
In 2015, Koons presented his Gazing Ball series. He took 35 famous paintings, like Manet's Déjeuner sur l'Herbe. He had them repainted and added a small shelf to each. On the shelf, there is a blue glass gazing ball. Both the viewer and the painting are reflected in the ball.
The series is named after the mirrored balls often seen in gardens. Koons saw these around his childhood home. After the paintings, Koons also made white sculptures from the Greco-Roman era. He also included everyday objects like mailboxes and birdbaths.
Apollo Series
In 2022, Koons created the Apollo series for an art space in Greece. This included a sculpture called Apollo Wind Spinner (2020–2022). It is a 9.1-meter (30-foot) wide reflective wind spinner. The walls inside the art space were decorated with ancient frescoes. The exhibition also included bronze Nike sneakers and other new works.
Recent Work
For the 2007–2008 season, Koons designed a large picture called Geisha for the Vienna State Opera. Koons also worked with pop star Lady Gaga on her 2013 album Artpop. He created the cover artwork, which features a sculpture he made of Lady Gaga.
In 2014, GARAGE Magazine published Koons's first digital artwork. It was called Lady Bug. This was an augmented reality sculpture that could be seen on mobile devices using an app.
In 2012, Koons bought a stone workshop. This facility now makes only Koons's stone artworks. In 2013, Koons created Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules). This sculpture was inspired by the Farnese Hercules.
Other Projects
A drawing similar to his Tulip Balloons was featured on the front page of Google in 2008. In 2006, Koons appeared on Artstar, a TV show about the New York art world. He also had a small role in the 2008 film Milk.
In 2012, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked Koons to help review designs for a new bridge. In 2019, Koons unveiled Bouquet of Tulips in Paris. This 11-meter high sculpture honors the victims of the November 2015 attacks.
In February 2024, a SpaceX rocket carried 125 of Koons's small stainless steel moon sculptures into space. These sculptures were named after historical figures. This project aimed to be the first authorized artwork on the moon.
Curating
Koons has also been a curator for art exhibitions. In 2009, he curated an Ed Paschke exhibition in New York. In 2010, he curated an exhibition of works from a private collection at the New Museum in New York City.
BMW Art Car
Koons was chosen to design the seventeenth BMW Art Car. His artwork was put on a race car, a E92 BMW M3. It was shown in Paris in 2010. The car then raced at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
Collaborations
In 2013, Koons worked with American singer Lady Gaga for her album ARTPOP. The album cover shows a sculpture of Gaga made by Koons. It also features a blue ball sculpture and parts of other artworks. The song "Applause" from the album even mentions Koons in the lyrics.
.jpg)
In 2017, Koons worked with the French fashion brand Louis Vuitton. He designed handbags and backpacks that featured copies of famous paintings by old masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh.
Wine
Koons has also designed labels for wine. In 2012, Chateau Mouton Rothschild announced that Koons designed their 2010 vintage label. This is a tradition that started in 1946. Other famous artists have also designed these labels. In 2013, Dom Pérignon released a special edition of their 2004 vintage wine with Koons's design.
Charity
Koons supports charity work. In 2008, he donated a private tour of his studio for an auction to benefit the Hereditary Disease Foundation. He also designed special edition products for Kiehl's Crème de Corps. A part of the money from these sales went to the Koons Family Institute. This institute is part of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Koons has given over US$4.3 million to this institute.
Exhibitions
Since 1980, Koons's art has been shown in many exhibitions around the world. In 1986, he was part of a group show in New York. His Made in Heaven series was first shown at the Venice Biennale in 1990.
As a young artist, Koons was in many exhibitions curated by Richard Milazzo. These shows featured other notable artists. His solo museum shows include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1988) and the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin (2000). In 2008, the Celebration series was shown in Berlin and on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In 2008, 17 of Koons's sculptures were shown at the Château de Versailles in France. This was the first time a contemporary American artist had such a big show there. The exhibition was very popular. The 2008 Koons exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, broke the museum's attendance record.
In 2009, Koons had his first big solo show in London. It was called Jeff Koons: Popeye Series. In 2012, he had his first major solo show in Switzerland at the Beyeler Museum. This show featured works from his The New, Banality, and Celebration series. It also included the flowered sculpture Split-Rocker.
In 2014, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York held a retrospective of Koons's work. In 2019, an exhibition called Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean was held in Oxford, United Kingdom.
Recognition and Awards
Koons has received many awards for his art. In 2000, he received the BZ Cultural Award. In 2001, he received the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture. He was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 2002 and promoted to Officier in 2007.
He received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2008. He also won the Wollaston Award from the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2008. In 2013, he received the U.S. State Department's Medal of Arts. In 2014, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. In 2017, he received an Honorary Membership Award from the Edgar Wind Society at the University of Oxford. In 2019, he was made an Honorary Professor of Sculpture in Italy.
Art Market
Many art collectors in America and Europe own Koons's work. Some collectors have many pieces. For example, Eli Broad has 24 pieces, and Dakis Joannou owns about 38 works.
Koons has been represented by several art dealers over the years. Since 2021, Pace Gallery has been his main representative worldwide. Many of Koons's works have been sold at auctions. His sculptures, especially from the Celebration series, are very popular.
In 2001, one of his Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculptures sold for US$5.6 million. In 2007, Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold) sold for US$23.6 million. At that time, it was the most expensive piece by a living artist ever sold at auction. In 2008, his Balloon Flower (Magenta) sold for US$25.7 million.
During an economic downturn, art prices dropped. However, prices for Koons's earlier works remained strong. In 2012, Tulips (1995–2004) sold for US$33.6 million, setting a new record for Koons at auction. In 2015, his painting Triple Elvis (2009) sold for US$8,565,000. In 2019, Koons's stainless steel Rabbit (1986) sold for US$91.1 million. This made it the most expensive work sold by a living artist at auction.
Sometimes, there have been legal disagreements about Koons's art. In 2018, a French court ruled that his work Fait d'Hiver (1988) copied an advertisement. This meant the artwork could not be shown in France.
Art Style
Art experts often describe Koons's work as Neo-pop or Post-Pop art. This style came about in the 1980s. It was a reaction to the simpler art styles of Minimalism and Conceptualism from the decade before. Koons himself says he doesn't see any "irony" in his work. He believes irony leads to too much thinking. Koons says his art has no hidden meanings.
He has caused some discussion by bringing "kitsch" (art that is seen as cheap or overly sentimental) into the world of high art. He uses everyday subjects, even more than artists like Warhol did with his Campbell's Soup Cans. His work Balloon Dog (1994–2000) is based on balloons twisted into the shape of a toy dog.
One art writer said that Koons changed the idea of art. He focused on everyday objects. He questioned what was considered "normal" art and embraced different kinds of art and taste.
Impact and Influence
People have very different reactions to Koons's art. Some critics, like Amy Dempsey, have called his Balloon Dog an "awesome presence" and a "massive durable monument." Jerry Saltz praised the "technical skill and eye-popping visual blast" of Koons's art. Blake Gopnik listed Koons as one of the "10 Most Important Artists of Today" in 2011. He said Koons's mix of high and low art still feels important.
However, other critics have not been as positive. Mark Stevens called him a "decadent artist" who makes his themes seem unimportant. Michael Kimmelman called Koons's work "artificial," "cheap," and "unabashedly cynical."
Critic Robert Hughes wrote that Koons "really does think he's Michelangelo and is not shy to say so." He also said that Koons has a "slimy assurance" and "gross patter about transcendence through art."
Koons has influenced younger artists like Damien Hirst. His idea of making everyday objects much larger was influenced by artists like Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. His work was also influenced by artists in Chicago, like Jim Nutt and Ed Paschke, when he was a student there.
In 2005, Koons was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Koons Family Institute
Koons is on the board of directors for the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC). In 2007, Koons and his wife Justine started the ICMEC Koons Family Institute on International Law and Policy. This institute works to help missing and exploited children.
Personal Life
While in college, Koons had a daughter, Shannon Rodgers. She was adopted. Rodgers reconnected with Koons in 1995. Koons said that the adoption made him want to be more visible so his daughter could find him.
In 1991, he married Ilona Staller, who was a member of the Italian Parliament. They had a son in 1992. Koons later married Justine Wheeler, who is an artist and used to work in his studio. They have four children together. In 2009, the family lived in an Upper East Side townhouse in New York.
See also
In Spanish: Jeff Koons para niños
