It is no small task to ingest Jeff Koons' work all at once. A flip through the pages of Koons, which catalogues the American artist's entire body of work from 1979 to now, is more than a visual feast - it's a degustation from which you keep snacking way past the point of feeling full.
The sheer size of the book means that even the most seasoned Koons fans will see or learn something new. Fans of his giant-sized metallic balloon animals will get to see the beginning of a fascination with all things round and engorged in Made in Heaven - sexually explicit photographs, sculptures and paintings of himself and ex-wife Ilona Staller (aka Italian porn star Cicciolina). The leviathan red lobster on the book's cover recalls a series of works known as Koons' Popeye series, in which he put his favourite childhood character at the mercy of said lobster in a series of paintings and sculptures. An extensive written history of the artist breaks up the density of colour, featuring words from Vanity Fair contributing editor Ingrid Sischy, Artforum contributing editor Katy Siegel and art expert Eckhard Schneider.
It is only fitting that an artist who borrows so heavily from consumer culture should have his work presented in its entirety in the ultimate consumer item: an enormous, shiny, eye-catching coffee table book. While you might have to explain the humour to prudish houseguests, this Koons anthology is one we'd be proud to keep on display.
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