Jeff Koons has gifted a new sculpture, an immense hand holding a series of the artist’s signature balloon tulips, to the city of Paris, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the ISIS attacks in the city.  “I hope the work is life-changing to people,” Koons says. “I hope that the Bouquet of Tulips can communicate a sense of future, of optimism, the joy of offering to find something greater outside the self.” (more…)

The lawsuit against David Zwirner over delays in the delivery of a Jeff Koons work has been allowed to proceed, after a judge dismissed several counts of fraud related to the case.  “This is a victory for art purchasers and a landmark decision in that it is the first one to rule on an important law that is designed to keep New York’s art market clean and safe for buyers of sculptures and other editioned work,” says John Cahill, plaintiff Fabrizio Moretti’s lawyer.  (more…)

Jeff Koons (Installation View), via Art Observed

Opening its new exhibition space in London during Frieze Week, Almine Rech has tapped Jeff Koons for a series of new pieces to christen the space.  The show, which draws heavily on Koons’s recent work in his Gazing Ball series, shown alongside a small selection of polished steel Ballerina sculptures, marks an interesting continuation of the series. (more…)

The Art Newspaper has more information on the lawsuit between dealer Fabrizio Moretti and David Zwirner, noting that the dispute is over a recent Jeff Koons Gazing Ball work, which was repeatedly sent to different buyers, harming its value in the process.  “It’s a shocking level of indifference to customers that is frankly surprising for a dealer who has a buyer who paid $2m,” Moretti’s laywer John Cahill says. (more…)

Jeff Koons has unveiled a collaborative technology project with Google, a smart phone case that plays excerpts from Swan Lake, and transmits new graphics to the user’s phone each day.  “I’ve always enjoyed ballet,” Koons says. “I think that dance really captures nature and culture together. You have the biological aspect between people, movement, and bodies, and at the same time you are completely referencing also the classical.” (more…)

Maurizio Cattelan, Him (2001), via Christie’s

This week’s marathon series of art auctions is underway in New York City, as Christie’s launched a rare, specially-curated Sunday sale, ending its 39 lot Bound to Fail auction with a final tally of $78,123,250, with only a single lot going unsold.  The fair, which followed hot on the heels of the last hours of Frieze, saw modest bidding and consistently dependable sales, although several works sold for final prices below estimate. (more…)

Aby Rosen has partnered with Jeff Koons and Groundswell, a New York community mural organization, to present a youth artists initiative at his SoHo project, 11 Howard.  The towering mural piece was created during after-school art programs led by Misha Tyutyunik.  “This is a very creative team of young artists, and it’s rare to see a group with such a unified vision. I’ve enjoyed working with the artists during the conception of their idea,” Koons said. (more…)

Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Fragonard Young Girl Playing with her Dog) (2014-2015)

Challenging the established notion of history as linear entity, art history often manifests itself as an intergenerational pattern, embedding variant heterogenous theories, movements and phenomena onto compound structures, while just as often disregarding its most sound chronological hierarchies. Jeff Koons, whose current exhibition at Gagosian Gallery continues his entries in his series of Gazing Ball works, takes this opportunity to scrutinize the constellation of art history, drawing his own threads and theories through a diverse and complexly interrelated series of works. (more…)

As part of the Florence antiques biennial, Jeff Koons will install his sculpture Pluto and Prosperina in Piazza della Signoria, placing his work face to face with a replica of Michelangelo’s David.  The installation will parallel a similar exhibition at the Galleria dell’Accademia pairing classic sculpture with modern artists. (more…)

The WSJ has an interview with Jeff Koons at the artist’s studio this week, which sees Koons revealing that his balloon animal sculptures were in part a way to communicate with his son, who left for Italy with the artist’s former wife, Ilona Staller, after their divorce.  “It was a way to be communicating with my son,” Koons says.  “I was thinking of him.” (more…)

The New York Post reports on a recent tour of artist Jeff Koons’s 29th Street New York studio, by painter Alex Gardega, in an article that offers some interesting, and occasionally bleak snapshots from the artist’s high-precision production methods.  “They have lasers printing holes in paper, so they make thousands of pieces of paper with holes in it, and these artists sit all day long and take one stencil, dab paint over it, take the next over that,” he says. “Hundreds of times a day — all for a 5-inch section.” (more…)

Jeff Koons is interviewed this week in The Independent, as the artist concludes his monumental retrospective at the Whitney Museum.  In the interivew, Koons discusses his work with Lady Gaga, and his take on the nature of his work.  “I like to smile, I think that my works have aspects to them which are very, very cheerful, that bring about a smile, but at the same time they have the aspect of tragedy,” he says. “So they are not just free of this other side. They want really to be balanced, to be full and rounded.” (more…)

This month’s cover of Garage Magazine has been unveiled, with a pair of Jeff Koons artworks gracing the cover, and a virtual artwork that allows viewers to view it from all angles using a mobile device.  The piece, Lady Bug, is Koons first venture into virtual art, and must be unlocked by scanning various parts of the magazine with a smartphone application.  “Garage has always aspired to push the physical limits of a magazine,” says owner Dhasha Zhukova. “We are inspired by the infinite possibilities of the digital realm and look forward to exploring new media in this issue and beyond. We are excited to have collaborated with Jeff Koons on his first virtual sculpture.” (more…)

The Whitney Museum will keep its doors open on Mondays next month, providing visitors an extra day to visit the vast Jeff Koons retrospective before the institution closes its uptown space for its move to the Meatpacking District.  The new hours are in effect until the exhibition closes on October 19th. (more…)

Jeff Koons spoke with talk show host Charlie Rose for almost an hour about art, culture, and his pursuit of happiness. The conversation, which was broadcasted by PBS on July 28th, opened with a discussion of the large retrospective of his work currently on at the Whitney, an exhibition that Koons said has prompted him to feel “more ambitious”. Other topics included the artists who inspire Koons, including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Salvador Dali, his creative process, and his future plans. A recurring theme was Koons’ desire to continue to do what he loves and explore “the freedom that we have for gesture”. (more…)

The New York Times has published a by-the-numbers review of the recently opened Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney, charting the show’s contents in figures and facts, like the heaviest work (Gorilla, which weights 15,000 pounds), the number of gallons of water in his Equilibrium series (117 and 1/2), and the number of shipments to deliver all of the works (75). (more…)

Official opening of ‘Jeff Koons: A Retrospective’ at The Whitney Museum of American Art, Images via Kelly Lee for Art Observed

After months of hushed tones and starstruck reports on the scale, cost and ambition of Jeff Koons’s career retrospective at The Whitney, the doors have opened at the museum for its last exhibition before the long-held 75th and Madison building is abandoned for its new Meatpacking District headquarters.  As indicated, the show has indeed pulled out the stops for Koons, with a combination of new works and classic pieces.

Jeff Koons, Amore (1988)

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Part of the fanfare surrounding Jeff Koons’s retrospective at the Whitney, H&M will turn its 5th Avenue shop into a miniature Jeff Koons exhibition, featuring a special purse branded with the artist’s signature Balloon Dog.  “The partnership with H&M was really exciting for me,” Koons says, “and the chance to showcase one of my most popular works to a new generation of people was inspiring.”  (more…)

The New York Times has published a profile on Jeff Koons, in the run-up to the artist’s landmark retrospective at the Whitney, particularly noting the difficulties that the artist’s monumental works are posing for the museum’s limited space.  “It’s the perfect storm of difficulties,” said Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s associate director of programs. “There are the sheer physical demands of the objects themselves, their high values and the fragile materials, to say nothing of the cliffhanger of waiting for works that have been in production for years.” (more…)

As Jeff Koons prepares to open his major retrospective at the Whitney next month, the artist will also be installing Split-Rocker, his cartoonish, monumental flower sculpture at Rockefeller Center on June 25th, two days before the show opens.  “We couldn’t do any topiary at the Whitney, because there wasn’t any space,” Koons told the New York Times. (more…)

The recently opened Collier Schorr exhibition at 303 Gallery suggests a fresh dialogue on appropriation, a trend in art that has been associated with photographic work more often than any other medium since the 80s, and is here taken up again by a long-time photographer. Instead of Richard Prince’s infamous rephotographing of Marlboro ads or Jeff Koons’ re-sculpting of the kitsch, though, Schorr’s practice stands closer to the likes of Sherrie Levine or Barbara Kruger, presenting new discussions on feminism, the female body and its place in the contemporary aesthetic discourse.

Collier Schorr, The Bricks (2013), Courtesy of Collier Schorr and 303 Gallery, New York (more…)

The Independent reports on the history of artist Jeff Koons, noting his time as a Wall Street commodities trader, and the artist’s immense market popularity, underscored this week by the sale of his Balloon Dog sculpture for $58 million.  The article notes the rising of wealth of the “new asset class,” and the appeal of Koons’ sculptures to collectors with a ” large deficit of social and cultural capital.” (more…)

Part of the upcoming release of Lady Gaga’s newest release, ARTPOP, the singer has commissioned Jeff Koons to create a sculpture of herself for the cover of the album.  “I’m still trying to figure out if we drugged him and mind controlled him into doing this.”  Gaga joked. (more…)

Art collector and Newspaper Magnate Peter Brant is selling Jeff Koons‘ Balloon Dog (Orange) from his collection to auction this November at Christie’s in New York.  The sale will go to benefit his Brant Foundation Art Study Center in Greenwich, CT, and is estimated at $35 to $55 million, a noteworthy figure that places the low estimate well-over Koons’ current auction record of $33.6 million. (more…)