American artist Jeff Koons is gaining reputation as more of his works become available in the United States. His works are on permanent display at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum in Los Angeles starting early this year; he has a special exhibit is going on right now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and yet another solo exhibit will begin this weekend in Chicago.
Koons on the Web
Most of Google's logo designs are done internally by Dennis Hwang, but a recent logo was done by Jeff Koons, famous for sculptures related to inflatable objects such as balloons.
Google featured the logo (which incorporated a photograph of Koons' "Tulips" sculpture) to promote iGoogle.
Koons in Los Angeles
Koons' permanent exhibit on the west coast is well-represented at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, the new contemporary art addition of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art which opened in February this year.
Housed in a beautiful structure designed by Renzo Piano, Koons' sculptures are on the top floor. In the center of a huge room is a gigantic blue balloon dog made of high chromium stainless steel with a transparent color coating. The sculpture's texture resembles that of the metallic helium balloons sold at gift shops. Next to it is another metallic sculpture- large cracked egg colored in a bright red.
Koons' "Tulips" – which was used to design the aforementioned Google logo, is on the ground floor outside the museum, next to the ticket booth. This is the only work of art at the Broad Contemporary that is allowed to be photographed by the public.
Koons in New York
On the east coast, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting "Jeff Koons on the Roof" which, like its title, is a showcase of Koons' sculptures in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden of the museum. Ongoing until October 26, visitors will be able to see a number of sculptures, including three of which have never been displayed before in the public.
Some of those sculptures include Sacred Heart and Coloring Book. For those who missed the blue balloon dog, there is the Balloon Dog (Yellow), although the color is closer to lime than yellow.
Koons in Chicago
Yet another solo exhibit of Koons is starting on May 31 in Chicago. Titled "Jeff Koons," the exhibit will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and is scheduled to run until September 21. Koons is working closely with the MCA to select his most iconic sculptural works, which will include some from the museum's own collection. Compared to the exhibitions in New York and LA, the Chicago exhibit will be a more extensive one on Koons' work over the years, including recent works and paintings.
Who is Jeff Koons?Jeff Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1955. He studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. and received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1976. Mr. Koons lives and works in New York City and York.
Koons is well-known for his public sculptures, such as the monumental floral sculptures Puppy, shown at Rockefeller Center and permanently installed at the Guggenheim Bilbao, and Split-Rocker, exhibited at the Papal Palace in Avignon, France. In 2006, Balloon Flower (Red) was unveiled at 7 World Trade Center in New York City.
