USA
* January 21, 1955 York (PA)
American artist Jeff Koons began his career with the series The New, consisting of vacuum cleaners enclosed in glass displays and illuminated by neon lights. He achieved international breakthrough with the Banality series – twenty sculptures made of porcelain and wood, designed down to the last detail. This series also includes the famous sculpture of Michael Jackson with his pet monkey, Bubbles.
The Celebration series, which Koons has been working on for more than twenty years, remains his most elaborate series to date. His technically perfect, high-gloss stainless steel sculptures, such as Balloon Dog, Puppy, and Tulips, which resemble inflated balloons, are unique and unmistakable. The artist works like an entrepreneur: he develops the concepts, but has the works produced by specialists in large studios.
Koons, whose works primarily address consumerism and luxury, is often referred to by his critics as the king of kitsch. His works fetch record prices and are caught in the tension between art and commerce, making him one of the most controversial artists of our time. Koons has broken several auction records throughout his life. His current world record is held by Rabbit, a silver rabbit made of stainless steel, which sold at Christie’s in 2019 for $91 million, making it the most expensive work ever sold by a living artist.
