A Big Day for Jeff Koons
It's no secret that artist Jeff Koons likes his art big (see 2000's gigantic chia puppy). Well, how about when art imitates life? Mr. Koons got the big star treatment this morning with a New York Times review of his Macy's parade float and a Page Six item about the skirmish of recent sale of his sculpture, Heart. Neither, however, will hurt the reputation of Mr. Koons. Roberta Smith wrote of the large metallic bunny (a replica of the sculpture that made him famous): "Floating overhead yesterday, it was a jubilant reminder of the way contemporary artists dip in and out of mainstream life, effortlessly working high, low and in between." As for Mr. Koons' Heart, sources told Page Six that art collector Adam Lindemann flipped it for $23 million after convincing dealer Larry Gagosian to sell it to him for $4 million. The buyer? Mr. Gagosian. Oops!
2007 has certainly been Jeff Koons' record year! America's top selling artist is starting 2008 with a bang of generosity. He has created a series of original-limited edition prints to exclusively benefit the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Koons’ Monkey Train (Blue), 2007 is priced at $30,000 a pop, and if all 40 sell, this would equal a private donation of $1.2 million and ultimately show that artists can be as charitable as their hedge fund patrons to worthy museums. AFTAM's website: www.americanfriendstelavivmuseum.org offers more print info