Jeff Koons in front of ‘Rabbit’ (1986), which broke the record in 2019 for the most expensive work sold at auction by a living artist.
The American artist Jeff Koons is a divisive figure, and during his 40-year career, he has been both widely praised and heavily ridiculed for his work, which tends to be inspired by everyday objects and consumer culture. The conflict at the heart of the debate around Koons’ work was well summed up by the art critic, Peter Schjeldahl, when he wrote: “Koons is hugely significant – grandly engaging themes of childhood, wealth, sex, and… death – while finally signifying precious little.”
Despite differing critical opinions, Jeff Koons’ artwork consistently fetches astronomical prices; his sculptures usually sell for seven or eight figures, and his prints regularly fetch between £1,000 and £5,000, with some attaining far higher prices.
Much of Koons’ work is inspired by his own life and personal experiences, and it is therefore interesting to know a little about the artist before delving into his artwork. So, below are eight facts you might not have known about Jeff Koons.
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He Is One Of The World’s Most Successful Living Artists
Jeff Koons’ work consistently sells for extraordinarily-high prices. His net worth was recently estimated at $500 million, and he has regularly broken auction records. His Balloon Dog (Orange), for instance, broke the record for the most expensive piece of work sold at auction by a living artist when it reached £32.5 million in 2013. Koons subsequently broke his own record with Rabbit, a stainless steel sculpture which was sold by Christie’s for just over £62 million in 2019.
His Most Expensive Print Sold For Over £180,000
Wolfman was sold by Christie’s in November 2002 for £182,468. The print comes from Koons’ Made in Heaven series, which remains the artist’s most controversial series to date. Made in Heaven featured a number of explicit photos, paintings, prints, and sculptures of Koons and his then-partner, Ilona Staller, in a variety of sexual poses.
At the time, Staller was a porn star better known by her stage name, La Cicciolina. Although Koons destroyed many of the Made in Heaven pieces during a bitter custody battle with Staller over their son, Ludwig, works from the series remain highly sought-after, and they account for Koons’ two most expensive prints ever sold at auction.
Wolfman by Jeff Koons (Censored)
He Was Married To A Porn Star
Jeff Koons and La Cicciolina (who’s real name is Ilona Staller) were married in 1991, just after the 1990 Venice Biennale where Koons’ Made in Heaven series was first displayed to the public. The series was made up of paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs featuring Koons and Staller in explicit sexual poses, and it generated significant controversy and debate about the nature of art. Although Koons and Staller separated soon after their marriage, Made in Heaven remains one of Koons’ most highly sought-after and provocative series to date.
He Is Very Controversial
Jeff Koons consistently divides the art world; to some, he is one of the most innovative and interesting artists of our time, and to others, he is a talentless embodiment of vapidity and cynicism, disguised by clever self-marketing.
It is impossible to argue with the fact that he has become one of the most successful living artists today, and many will agree with Roberta Smith’s belief that “he changed the way we see the world, … [bringing] colour into sculpture with a new fierceness and complexity that made his objects irresistible.”
Many others, however, will side with Robert Hughes, who wrote: “Koons really does think he’s Michelangelo and is not shy to say so… He has the slimy assurance, the gross patter about transcendence through art, of a blow-dried Baptist selling swamp acres in Florida. And the result is that you can’t imagine America’s singularly depraved culture without him.”
He Used To Revere Salvador Dalí
As a teenager, Koons idolised Salvador Dalí, the famous Spanish surrealist artist, and he has continually drawn inspiration from Dalí’s bizarre, enigmatic images throughout his career. Koons even wrangled a meeting with the older artist when he was 19, and they spent an afternoon together at Dalí’s new exhibition.
“The Persistence of Memory” – Salvadore Dali
Now, Damien Hirst Reveres Him
Jeff Koons is 10 years older than Damien Hirst, the English artist and collector who once said: “Jeff was like a superstar to me.” The two artists often explore similar themes in their work, and they’re both huge celebrities of the art world who are regularly mentioned in the same sentence as each other. Hirst is also an avid collector of Koons’ work, and his Newport Street Gallery even staged an exhibition of over 30 Koons pieces in 2016.
He Used to Work at MoMA
After he graduated from art school and before he became a famous artist, Koons worked for a time at the membership desk of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. He became known for his impressive salesmanship tactics (which later served him well when he became a Wall Street commodities broker for a time) and his eccentric appearance and deliberately-outlandish outfits.
Working at MoMA gave Koons the opportunity to explore many different ideas and artworks, including Marcel Duchamp’s ‘readymades’. Duchamp’s influence over the American artist has remained strong ever since; many of Jeff Koons’ most sought-after prints, for instance, are pre-made advertising posters which he framed and proceeded to call art.
He Is Not Modest
If the criticism and ridicule frequently levelled at Koons has phased him, he doesn’t let it show; the artist consistently displays an unruffled self-confidence, even in the face of his critics. This belief in his own worth and importance is best summed up by something he said back in 1990: “In this century, there was Picasso and Duchamp. Now I’m taking us out of the twentieth century.”
