Jeff Koons
Almine Rech Gallery
Grosvenor Hill, W1K 3JH London UK
October 4, 2016 – January 21, 2017
Almine Rech Gallery opened its second London space on Grosvenor Hill with Jeff Koons, a solo exhibition, on view from October 4, 2016 to January 21, 2017. The exhibition is comprised of paintings and sculptures by Jeff Koons from his Gazing Ball series, as well as two sculptures of ballerinas from his Antiquity series. A catalogue with an essay by Norman Rosenthal will be published for the occasion.
His Gazing Ball painting series comprises of putting the reflective orb onto already famous paintings, such as Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss or El Greco’s Disrobing of Christ. The sculpture series places the orb three dimensionally on a classical statue, white plaster resembling Greek and Roman work and portraying such subjects as the goddesses Diana and Demeter.
His Antiquity series consists of both paintings and sculptures as well. The paintings, also combining already existing image, layer many different images over each other but are then topped with crude, childish depictions of different scenes and objects. The sculptures are also highly recognizable subjects, such as a Venus resembling the one of Willendorf, but done in his balloon like shapes or highly metallic finishes he is known for.
Koons earned his fame with his public sculptures, such as the monumental floral sculpture Puppy (1992), shown at Rockefeller Center and permanently installed at the Guggenheim Bilbao. But perhaps he is most recognized for his sculpture Balloon Dog from his Celebration series.
