Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

          Jeff Koons rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as part of a generation of artists exploring the meaning of art and spectacle in a media-saturated era.  With his stated artistic intention to “communicate with the masses,” Koons makes use of conceptual constructs — including the ancient, the everyday, and the sublime — creating luxurious icons and elaborate tableau, which, beneath their captivating exteriors, engage the viewer in a metaphysical dialogue with cultural history.
          These three porcelain sculptures by Koons are part of his series inspired by children’s inflatable animal balloons that he created from 2005 onwards. 
          Koons once commented to Zuzanna Stanska, a prominent art critic for Daily Art  Magazine on the context of this series: “I’ve always enjoyed balloon animals because they’re like us. We’re balloons. You take a breath and you inhale (its) optimism. You exhale, and it’s kind of a symbol of death.”