Jeff Koons
* 1955 York/Pennsylvania
Selected Works
Vita
21.01.1955geboren in York, Pennsylvania
1972 - 1976
Studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. After an exchange year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he graduated with a BFA in 1976
1977
Moves to New York, where the artist still lives and works today
1979
Koons experiments with inflatable flowers and rabbits
1980
In his first solo exhibition, Koons presents hoovers and carpet and floor cleaning equipment in Plexiglas showcases
1985
The "Equilibrium" series is created. This consists of bronze sculptures depicting everyday objects from sport and leisure time (e.g. "Basketball", "Soccerball (Dacor)"; "Snorkel Vest"), as well as constructions of water-filled vitrines (aquariums) in which basketballs float.
1986
Koons' "Rabbit", the 104 cm high stainless steel version of an inflatable rabbit, attracts critical attention. In the same year, Koons began to explore advertising strategies and marketing campaigns for spirits. In his cycle "Luxury and Degradation", Koons demonstrates that advertising aims to reinforce traditional social roles. The cycle also includes a series of objects and artefacts associated with alcohol consumption. Made of stainless steel, a simple yet shiny material, they give the illusion of luxury.
1988
Koons continues to deal with the excesses of consumer society and marketing strategies. He created the series "Banality", three-dimensional representations of couples such as "Michael Jackson and Bubbles", the pop icon with his chimpanzee. This series also included the so-called "Art Magazine Ads" ("Art Ad Portfolio", 1988-89): full-page self-advertisements for his exhibitions in New York, Cologne and Chicago published by Koons in four art magazines (Flash Art, Arts, Artforum and Art in America) in 1988 and 1989. In these, Koons staged himself in bizarre scenes and played with his status in the art world
1990/91
Creation of the series "Made in Heaven", which Koons first showed at the Venice Biennale in 1990. It shows the artist with his new wife Ilona Straller in pornographic poses
1992
Koons shows his 12-metre-high sculpture "Puppy", the figure of a West Higland Terrier constructed from earth and colourful flowers, during documenta 9 in Kassel. Although not an official artwork of the exhibition, the sculpture became extremely popular and was subsequently exhibited in other cities (e.g. New York, Sydney and Bilbao)
seit 1995
Koos developed further sculptural cycles such as "Celebration" (1995-98), "Easyfun" (19999-2000), "Easyfun/Etheral" (2000-2002), "Popeye" (2003) and "Hulk Elvis" (2007). He also creates painted works that combine abstraction and references to pop culture
Awards
2000
"B.Z. Kulturpreis", Berlin,
2001
"Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture", Skowhegan School of Arts, New York,
2001
"Ernennung zum Ritter der Französischen Ehrenlegion",
2005
"Wahl zum Mitglied der American Academy for Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts",
2007
"Ernennung zum Offizier der Franzöischen Ehrenlegion",
2008
"Wollaston Award", Royal Academy of Arts, London,
2008
"Ehrendoktorwürde des School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois",
2010
"Ernennung zum Ehrenmitglied der Royal Academy of Arts, London",
Solo exhibitions (selection)
1980
"The New (A Window Installation)", New Museum, New York,
1985
"Equilibrium", International With Monument Gallery, New York; Feature Gallery, Chicago,Illinois,
1986
"Luxury and Degradation", International With Monument Gallery, New York; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles,
1987
"The New: Encased Works", Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles,
1988
"Jeff Koons: Works 1979-1988", Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,
1988
"Banality", Galerie Max Hetzler, Köln,
1988
"Banality", Sonnabend Gallery, New York,
1988
"Banality", Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, Illinois,
1989
"Jeff Koons - Nieuw Werk", Galerie 't Venster, Rotterdam,
1991
"Made In Heaven", Galerie Max Hetzler, Köln,
1991
"Made In Heaven", Sonnabend Gallery, New York,
1991
"Made In Heaven", Christophe Van de Weghe, Brüssel,
1992
"Made In Heaven", Gramo Fine Art, Antwerpen,
1992
"Made In Heaven", Galerie Lehmann, Lausanne,
1992
"Jeff Koons: Retrospektive", Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (weitere Stationen),
1994
"Jeff Koons: A Survey 1981-1994", Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London,
1995
"Puppy", Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney,
1997
"Jeff Koons", Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris,
1997
"Puppy", Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao,
1998
"Encased Works", Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London,
1999
"Easyfun", Sonnabend Gallery, New York,
1999
"Jeff Koons: A Millennium Celebration", Deste Foundation, Athen,
2000
"Easyfun-Ethereal", Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin,
2000
"Puppy", Rockefeller Center, New York,
2001
"New Paintings", Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles,
2001
"Jeff Koons", Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz,
2002
"Easyfun-Ethereal", Salomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
2002
"Jeff Koons: Pictures 1980-2002", Kunsthaus Bielefeld, Bielefeld,
2002
"La Part de l'autre Carré d'Art", Musée d'Art Contemporain, Nîmes,
2003
"Jeff Koons", Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Neapel,
2004
"Jeff Koons: Retrospektive", Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo,
2005
"Jeff Koons: Retrospektive", Helsinki City Art Museum, Helsinki,
2006
"Diamond", Victoria & Albert Museum, London,
2006
"Cracked Egg (Blue)", Gagosian Gallery, London,
2007
"Jeff Koons: Hulk Elvis", Gagosian Gallery, London,
2007
"Jeff Koons: Popeye", Gagosian Gallery, London,
2008
"Jeff Koons: On the Roof", Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York,
2008
"Jeff Koons", Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago,
2008
"Jeff Koons: Celebrations", Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin,
2009
"Jeff Koons: Versailles", Château de Versailles, Versailles,
2009
"Jeff Koons: New Paintings", Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills,
2011
"ARTISTS ROOMS: Jeff Koons", National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh; Brighton Museum; Norwich Castle Museums & Art Gallery, Norwich,
2011
"Moustache by Jeff Koons", High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Giorgia,
2012
"Jeff Koons: The Sculptor", Liebighaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt a.M.,
2012
"Jeff Koons: The Painter", Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt a.M.,
2012
"Jeff Koons: Balloon Venus (Orange)", Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Wien,
2014
"Jeff Koons: A Retrospektive", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Centre Pompidou, Paris; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao,
2015
"Jeff Koons: Gazing Ball (Charity)", Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York,
2015
"Jeff Koons: Hulk (Friends)", Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Wien,
2015
"Jeff Koons In Florence", Palazzo Vecchio und Piazza della Signoria, Florenz,
2016
"Jeff Koons: Ballerina", Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires,
2016
"Jeff Koons: Now", Newport Street Gallery, London,
2016
"Almine Rech Gallery", London,
2017
"Jeff Koons", Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, Kalifornien,
2018
"Masterpieces", De Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam,
Group exhibitions (selection)
1984
"Objectivity", Objectivity. Hallways Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, New York,
1987
"Skulptur Projekte in Münster 1987", Westfälisches Landesmuseum, Münster,
1987
"Whitney Biennial", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
1988
"The Carnegie International", The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
1989
"Whitney Biennial", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
1990
"The 8th Biennale of Sydney", Sydney,
1990
"Aperto", 44. Biennale von Venedig, Venedig,
1991
"Metropolis", Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin,
1992
"A Century In Sculpture", Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam,
1993
"American Art in the Twentieth Century: Painting and Sculpture, 1913-1993.", Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Royal Academy of Arts, London,
1994
"Die Orte der Kunst: der Kunstbetrieb als Kunstwerk", Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hannover,
1999
"Heaven", Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Tate Gallery, Liverpool,
2000
"Innocence and Experience", Museum of Modern Art, New York,
2000
"Hypermental, 1950–2000 from Salvador Dali to Jeff Koons", Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich,
2007
"Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation", Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao,
2015
"A Brief History of the Future", Louvre, Paris,
2017
"We Are Here", Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago,