After Jeff Koons

After JEFF KOONS (United States, 1955).
“Blue Rabbit,” 1991.
Zinc alloy. Edition of 500.
Certificate of authenticity included inside the box; original box included.
Éditions studio.
Brand new.
Measurements: 34 x 14 x 9 cm.

Jeff Koons’ iconic, faceless “Rabbit” incorporates multiple references, ranging from Disney and Playboy to Brancusi, Lewis Carroll, and Marcel Duchamp’s readymades. The work’s far-reaching impact has generated countless interpretations, cementing this sculpture as a true icon of 20th-century art. The first version of “Rabbit,” created by Koons in 1986 in stainless steel with the appearance of an inflatable balloon, has broken sales records, reaching $91 million in 2019—a milestone that underscores the artist’s ongoing reinterpretation of the piece.

A key figure on the international art scene since the late 20th century, Jeff Koons has developed an artistic language characterized by kitsch elements and, often, monumental scale. He trained in painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Maryland Institute College of Art, though he worked for a time as a stockbroker on Wall Street before devoting himself to art. He began to make a name for himself in the 1980s and soon opened a studio employing thirty assistants, emulating the model of Warhol’s Factory. A pioneer in his business-oriented approach to art, he hired an advertising agency to promote his image—something that had never been done before. One of the most sought-after living artists, Koons has been honored throughout his career with numerous awards, including the Cultural BZ Award in Berlin (2000), the title of Knight of the French Legion of Honor (2001, promoted to Officer in 2007), the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School Medal (2003), election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2005), the Artistic Achievement Award from Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C. (2006), the Wollaston Prize from the Royal Academy in London (2008), the Rob Pruitt Prize from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (2009), honorary membership in the Royal Academy (2010), and the State Department’s Medal of Arts in Washington, D.C. (2012), among others. His work is currently represented in prominent collections around the world, including the Guggenheim Museums in New York, Bilbao, and Berlin; MoMA in New York; the Tate Gallery in London; the Château de Versailles; the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.