Description

New? Provocative? Famous? Koons!

The catalogue celebrates the work of Jeff Koons and traces the course of his artistic career through three crucial series: The New (1980–1987), Banality (1988) and Celebration (since 1994). Each of these three groupings of works marks a new phase in Koons’ oeuvre. The readymade objects deployed in The New give way in Banality to wondrous, provocative sculptures that are made by traditional artisans. Celebration marks the transition to painting, which is now placed on an equal footing with sculpture. These three series can be read as manifestos of Jeff Koons’ thinking on art and convey a representative impression of his work.

The inimitable works of Jeff Koons (*1955 in York, Pennsylvania), one of the most famous artists in the world today, have been causing uproar since the 1980s. Jeff Koons has engaged the media with his art from an early stage. As such he may be seen as a herald of our own day, in which art is increasingly becoming a public event.