Koons (Jeff)

A very marketable artist

Heir to Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp, Jeff Koons, born in 1955 in York (Pennsylvania), popularized a new genre, neopop. Champion of monumental kitsch, he was disparaged even more for turning art into an investment property. A few years before photographer David LaChapelle, the former Wall Street trader festooned with gold and glitter works that brought the baroque tradition back to life. Jeff Koons, a hot property in the art market, is the man who immortalized Michael Jackson and his chimpanzee in a gold-covered porcelain sculpture (Michael Jackson and Bubbles, 1988, sold for 5.6 million dollars in 1991) and transformed a cute pet dog into a gigantic, 30-meter high flower sculpture installed in front of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (Puppy, 1997). His studio in Soho, reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s Factory with its 30-odd assistants, turned out the famous inflatable stainless steel rabbit (Inflatable Rabbit, 1986) and Balloon Dogs, which now grace the François Pinault collection. Jeff Koons is also the man who, as husband of the provocative Cicciolina, made his union with the porno actress (and politician) a work of art (Made in Heaven, 1991). In September 2008, a retrospective of his work was held in the Château de Versailles, opening the way to other contemporary artists such as Xavier Veilhan (13 September-13 December 2009).