Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons (born 1955) has remained constantly in the public eye since he first showed his Equilibrium works--basketballs floating in tanks of water, framed Nike ads and a cast bronze lifeboat--at the influential East Village gallery International with Monument in 1985. Since that time, he has continued to scandalize the art world with such unforgettable works as “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” (1988), a series of life-size, gold-plated porcelain sculptures of the pop star and his pet chimpanzee; “Puppy,” (1992), a 43-foot-tall topiary sculpture of a West Highland terrier; and “Balloon Flower (Magenta)” (1995–2000), which broke all contemporary art auction records when it sold in 2008 for more than $25,000,000.
This volume, published on the occasion of Koons’ summer 2012 show at the esteemed Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland, examines three of Koons’ most influential bodies of work in depth: The New (1980–87), featuring the vacuum cleaner works in Plexiglas cases; Banality (1988), featuring such iconic painted ceramic and wooden sculptural works as “Michael Jackson and Bubbles,” “Winter Bears” and “Woman in Tub”; and Celebration (ongoing since 1994), the legendary series of sculptures and paintings which includes the stainless steel “Balloon Dog” sculptures. Taken together, these three series represents the most spectacular and significant phases in Koons’ oeuvre to date.