Jeff Koons

Jeffrey Lynn Koons (January 21, 1955) is an American artist renowned for his work exploring popular culture, particularly through sculptures of everyday objects like balloon animals made in mirror-finished stainless steel. Based in New York City and York, Pennsylvania, Koons’s pieces command high prices, including record-breaking sales for a living artist: Balloon Dog (Orange) sold for $58.4 million in 2013, and Rabbit for $91.1 million in 2019.

Koons’s work polarizes critics—some see it as groundbreaking and historically significant, while others dismiss it as kitsch or overly commercial. Koons himself insists that his works hold no hidden meanings or critiques. After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, Koons moved to New York in 1976, where he shifted from personal expression to exploring art’s relationship with commerce and media. His career gained momentum in the 1980s with The New series, which examined art’s role in media-saturated society.

Koons established a studio with over 30 assistants, modeled after Andy Warhol’s Factory, producing works through art fabrication. His Chelsea studio once employed up to 120 assistants, though he has recently downsized, using automation and a color-coded system to ensure uniformity across his works. Koons’s art often investigates themes of consumerism, seduction, banality, and childhood.