All installation photos courtesy of Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont.
On view in Paris at the Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont through Saturday, November 20 is Jeff Koons‘ “Popeye Sculpture.” The exhibition marks the artist’s third solo show in France, held at the same venue as his first in the country in 1997. Combining images and motifs from the popular cartoon strip with brightly-colored inflatable animals and assorted pool toys, Koons constructs an elaborate network of references, ranging from icons of mainstream culture to art historical iconography.
More after the jump…
Koons combines mass-produced, commercially-marketed items related to childhood and leisure with mundane household “ready-mades” such as chairs and dustbins, in an effort to communicate with his audience in a universally-recognizable yet semantically-weighted language. The juxtaposition between these inert objects of everyday life and the spacial, temporal, and utilitarian flexibility of inflatables evokes the tension between desire and practicality within a consumer-driven culture.
According to the exhibition’s press release, “…Koons seeks to redefine permanently the function of art in society, to open art to a larger public. By employing an iconography which is very popular and very contemporary, [Koons] aims to surpass the segregated aspects of art, imagining it not as a pedagogical or dogmatic discourse, but as a method of action, a vehicle between tradition and innovation.”
Related Links:
Official Website [Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont]
Jeff Koons – Popeye Sculpture [Le Figaro]
Les Popeyes de Jeff Koons [Connaissance des Arts]
Une Journée avec Jeff Koons [Elle France]
Interview with Jérome de Noirmont: Poussez les portes, c’est gratuit [Le Parisien]
