Mention Jeff Koons in the art world and you’ll get wildly divergent responses. Some will hail him as a genius, others as a charlatan. Whatever your opinion, the American artist—known for elevating children’s toys and vacuum cleaners to the stature of the Greek gods, and for bringing large-scale balloon sculptures into the hallowed halls of the Louvre—is a highly successful disruptive giant of contemporary art.
The impresario of power pop art is a cultural phenomenon in his own right, so established that he is no longer affected by people’s opinions. “Some people are very engaged with art, while others are simply intimidated by it,” he says. “They haven’t come to realise that art is a tool and can be very liberating. [But] as an artist, the only thing that really matters…
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Tatler Hong Kong (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2017