Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the first planned location for a traveling retrospective of the work of Jeff Koons, has announced that it will no longer be hosting the show.  The news comes in the wake of Director Jeffrey Deitch’s resignation from his position.  The exhibition will now open in New York at The Whitney Museum in June of next year. “It was decided by MOCA and the Whitney that it would be better for an exhibition as complex and ambitious at this one to be developed over a longer period of time,” said Whitney spokesman Stephen Soba. “And that the show should open in June in New York.”  (more…)

Preparing for the release of her anticipated album ARTPOP, pop star Lady Gaga has announced a series of collaborations with contemporary artists, including Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, Inez & Vinoodh and Robert Wilson.  Gaga has stated that her new project will “bring the music industry into a new age; an age where art drives pop, and the artist once again is in control of the ‘icon.'” (more…)

Jeff Koons has partnered with Champagne makers Dom Pérignon to release an extremely limited edition packaging design or the company’s 2003 Rosé.  Made in stainless steel, the design is a miniature of Koons’ Balloon Venus, and is available for the price of $20,000 a bottle.  “I’m very proud of the ‘Balloon Venus,’” says Koons. “It’s a work that I enjoy and I think really represents my oeuvre of work. ‘Balloon Venus’ represents the continuation of life’s energy. A great vintage also represents the vintages that will come, and so it’s about the continuation of something. It’s a continued creative process.” (more…)

Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Snowman), (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

The counterpoint to Gagosian Gallery’s survey of recent work by Jeff Koons, David Zwirner is currently presenting a markedly more subdued set of works by the American artist.  Consisting of a cohesive series of plaster and steel sculptures, Gazing Ball fuses Koons’ signature approach to American kitsch and the art historical with a new sense of minimalism.

Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed (more…)

Jeff Koons (Installation view), © Jeff Koons. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever

This past week, Jeff Koons opened a show of recent work at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, continuing the artist’s exploration of new forms in printed works, sculpture and assemblage.  Facing off against David Zwirner’s show of new Koons pieces several blocks away, the show was seemed to make its show-stopping intentions explicit, showcasing a number of Koons’ stainless steel balloon animals, and a series of hyper-kinetic prints alongside recent inflatable sculptures and takes on classical art works. (more…)

World renowned auctioneer Tobias Meyer during the sale of the Yves Klein sculpture, which ultimately sold for $22 Million

Sotheby’s hosted its contemporary evening auctions last night, with Principal Auctioneer and Head of Contemporary art Tobias Meyer coaxing the audience through the sales with high energy and style.  The sale, which totaled at $293.6 million, trumps last year’s spring auction of $266.6 million, while falling short of the auction house’s record high of $375 million last November. (more…)

New York Magazine has published an in-depth interview with Jeff Koons, in advance of the artist’s two shows opening this week at galleries Gagosian and David Zwirner.  Examining Koons’s successful career, the interview charts his creative history, and his often complex relation with the upper echelons of the art world, noting that he has never had a retrospective in New York City.  “I really think that the journey that art takes you on as an artist is that you first learn self-acceptance.”   He says. (more…)

Artnet’s Katherine Markley is reporting on the continued growth of the art market for contemporary female artists, focusing in particular on the work of Yayoi Kusama.  Analyzing sales figures for the last several years, Markley points out that Kusama has vastly exceeded the current sales figures for both Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons since 2007, and reframes the question of female artists’ presence in terms of comparison to direct market competitors, in favor of the 100 highest selling works list often cited in news articles and auction reports. (more…)

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #138 (1984), via Skarstedt Gallery

Skarstedt Gallery is currently presenting the retrospective 1980’s Revisited, revisiting the works, theories and artists that helped to define the dynamic decade in contemporary art.  Fetauring works by Carroll Dunham, Jenny Holzer, Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, David Salle and Cindy Sherman, the show highlights the varied and often conflicting artistic styles of the time, particularly in the newly developing approaches of Appropriation, Neo-Expressionism, and Graffiti.  The 1980’s were a controversial decade for the art world, a period of active boundary breaking by artists looking to challenge contemporary society.

Jeff Koons, One Ball Total Equilibrium (1985), via Skarstedt Gallery

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The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas has installed Tulips, a large-scale stainless steel sculpture by Jeff Koons, in its ground floor rotunda.  Acquired at auction in November for $33,682,500, the work is one of the largest and most complex of Koons’s Celebration series, and will sit near the hotel’s showroom lobby.  “Many people believe that Jeff Koons is one of the most important living artists on canvas and in sculpture in the world today,” said CEO Steve Wynn. “I’m happy to be one of those people and particularly delighted to share with our guests his magnificent creation of the Tulips sculpture.” (more…)

Larry Gagosian responded yesterday to a lawsuit by client Ronald O Perelman over money lost in the exchange of 11 works valued at over $45 million, including an unfinished Jeff Koons sculpture, a Cy Twombly painting, and a sculpture by Richard Serra. In a series of papers filed this week in New York State Supreme Court, Gagosian claims that he had lost money in the transactions, and that Perelman’s claims were “frivolous.” (more…)

Beginning in 1945, Château Mouton Rothschild has commissioned various artists, from Pablo Picasso to Francis Bacon, to create a graphic for its labels. Now it has asked Jeff Koons to design the label for 2010 label of its Pauillac first growth. Koons is one of the world’s most expensive living artists, and has designed an image of The Birth of Venus and a sailing ship under sunny skies. (more…)

Yayoi Kusama is reportedly leaving Gagosian Gallery, reports the ArtNewspaper. Damien Hirst also reportedly broke off his representation of 17 years as well this week. David Zwirner recently announced plans to host a Jeff Koons exhibition a long standing artist of Gagosian. Koons and Kusama currently have shows up at Gagosian locations (Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, respectively). Kusama is represented in London by Victoria Miro.  Hirst is represented in London by White Cube.
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With soaring prices for certain contemporary and modern artists, some say there are signs of a bubble that is about to burst, such as the fact that people are attracted to high prices and “trophy” art. Some say it is similar to “tulipomania” in 17th century Holland, whereby the insiders have already purchased, so the market expands to newer, international audiences to continue growth. One [anonymous] advisor put it like this:  “The market has to come down—because it has to. They don’t call it a market because it only goes up. You call that ‘magic.’” Others such as Mary Boone and Sean Kelly, question whether the frenzy at the top of the market is truly an indicator of a bubble. Kelly says, “Every time you thought the world was ending, this market has confounded that prediction.”  (more…)

Jeff Koons discusses his work on the occasion of being bestowed with a Medal from Department of State, as part of the 50th anniversary of the “Art in Embassies” cultural exchange program. Of the international reception to his art, Koons says, “…Americans are more intimidated by art, and they haven’t really come to realize that art is a tool and is something that is very very liberating to them”; on the subject of the work being physically created by studio assistants, he responds that “every part of it[the work] is an extension of my being”, and that “I am actually very very skilled at painting and drawing… it’s about being able to have vision”.
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Christie’s saleroom photo by ArtObserved

Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale broke the record for the highest ever grossing Contemporary Art auction in history, totaling over $412 million in sales. The auction came on the heels of Sotheby’s Postwar & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, which broke its own record for highest-grossing auction in Sotheby’s long history ($375 million). Christie’s achieved an astounding 92% sell by lot and 93% sell by value – of the 73 lots offered only 6 failed to sell.

Records at auction were broken for Richard Diebenkorn, Jeff Koons, Richard Serra, Franz Kline, George Condo, Jean- Michel Basquiat, and Mark Grotjahn. Additionally, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat set new records for their artworks on paper. A record was set for an Alexander Calder wire sculpture at auction with Policeman, which sold for $4.2 million.

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MoMA has just published a new book called “What Is Contemporary Art? A Guide for Kids,” ($19.95), featuring the work of over 70 artists, such as Gillian Wearing, Louise Bourgeois, Bruce Nauman, Olafur Eliasson, Andreas Gursky and Jeff Koons. It is written to make contemporary art more understandable and accessible. (more…)

FIAC crowds, photo by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed

FIAC closed today, Sunday October 21st, with dealers reporting strong sales and a collective sigh of relief that the proposed inclusion of artwork over €50,000 to France’s wealth tax had not passed.  The fair was, by all accounts, well-organized and exhibited an impressive program of young galleries alongside work by established blue-chip artists. This year the fair added exhibition space in the Salon d’Honneur, the newly-renovated upper floor of the historic Grand Palais.  In past years the fair has seen more European collectors, but this year dealers reported sales to many collectors from Asia, Russia and the Middle East as well. The fair was directed by Jennifer Flay.

Marc Quinn, The Origin of the World, 2012, photo by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed

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Larry Gagosian has dropped his lawsuit against collector Ron Perelman, stating that legal action had been taken only to establish Gagosian was the owner of the named artworks. The Perelman lawsuit concedes this fact, says Gagosian’s attorney, so he has no need to continue with the complaint. Mr. Perelman’s suit against Gagosian continues; it is related to the purchase of Koons‘ Popeye and other works for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract. (more…)

Image: Warhol’s Cow Wallpaper and Silver Pillows, The New York Times

“Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years” is a group show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that juxtaposes fifty Warhol works with one hundred of those by his peers and successors. The show attempts to capture the scope and breadth of Warhol’s impact on contemporary art history. Presented 25 years after his death at the age of 58 in 1987, the exhibition showcases the works of both artists who have risen to fame after Warhol’s death as well that of his contemporaries. Some of the artists included are Maurizio Cattelan, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Robert Gober, Takashi Murakami, Cindy Sherman, Ed Ruscha, Alex Katz, Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter.

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Artist Jeff Koons; Thomas P. Campbell, the ninth director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and architect Richard Meier have been chosen by New York State to oversee the selection of designs for a new Tapan Zee bridge. The Tappan Zee bridge crosses the Hudson between Rockland and Westchester Counties. The three will provide aesthetic input to a selection committee, which will make the final recommendation to the State Thruway Authority. A design selection is scheduled to be made by the end of the year. (more…)

Images: Larry Gagosian via Phaidon and Ronald Perelman via Forbes

Larry Gagosian and Ronald Perelman filed lawsuits against each other last week in the New York State Supreme Court. The two have had a business relationship and friendship for over twenty years.  The following is a further detailed account of the two cases.

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In “I was Jeff Koons’s Studio Serf” John Powers talks about his time working for Jeff Koons on the Celebration Series, as a studio assistant in 1995, casting light on the system behind production top works of contemporary art at auction. “The goal was to hand-fashion a flat, seamless surface that appeared to have been manufactured by machine, which meant there could be no visible brush strokes, no blending, no mistakes.”

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The Telegraph contributes another perspective on Jeff Koons‘s popularity and demeanor in a comprehensive report. After an interview at his studio, Lucy Davies concluded that “Koons’s appeal is beyond love or hate. His is a sunny, pleasure-filled world whose pull is hard to resist… The real world outside is, well, a bit of a let-down.”

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