Contemporary artist Jeff Koons has an inflatable ballerina on display at the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The 45-foot-high art installation is hosted by Tishman Speyer, but will only be on display until Friday, June 2nd.
The piece is part of Koon’s “Antiquity” series and is called “Seated Ballerina,” which was inspired by a small porcelain figurine. According to a statement, the piece “symbolizes notions of beauty and connectivity. Its reflective surface mirrors its immediate environment and engages with each viewer.”
On May 22nd, Lado Pochkhua, a Georgian artist posted on Facebook that the sculpture has an obvious resemblance to a porcelain figure designed by Ukrainian artist Oksana Zhnikrup. A spokesoman for Koon’s studio said, “We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup’s work and have a license to use it for Mr Koons’ work.”
Many have taken to Instagram to capture the artwork.
This is not the first time Koons has been displayed in Rockefeller Center. In 1992, Koons displayed his floral work called “Puppy,” which depicts a sitting terrier dog made out of different colored flowers. In 2014, Koons displayed another floral piece called “Split-Rocker,” which depicts two halves of two different rocking horse heads. In 2014 he also participated in the Big Egg Hunt NY with a egg sculpture at Rockefeller Center.
The “Seated Ballerina” is meant to raise awareness for National Missing Children’s Month by drawing attention to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). The primary sponsors of the project are Kiehl’s Since 1851 and the Art Production Fund. “This partnership will increase awareness and help the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children make the world a safer place for children,” Koons said in a statement.
According to Koon’s website, he has been a board member of ICMEC since 2002 and he co-founded the Koons Family International Law and Policy Institute with ICMEC, “for the purpose of combating global issues of child abduction and exploitation and to protect the world’s children.”
