jeff koons at the beyeler foundation part 2

JEFF KOONS – FONDATION BEYELER, BASEL, SWITZERLAND
ON NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2012
PART 2

fondation beyeler is the first swiss art institution to dedicate an exhibition to distinguished american artist jeff koons. the retrospective focuses on three central collections – ‘the new’, ‘banality’ and ‘celebration’ – formed by koons over the course of his artistic practice which began in the 1980s.

‘the new’ is koons’ earliest body of work, composed of readymade-like cleaning appliances. ‘celebration’ is a series of high-gloss steel sculptures and large-format paintings in which koons addresses childhood in a baroque way, and which he has continued to develop extensively over the last 20 years.

the showcase is a culmination of the various themes in which koons’ has worked with, offering a survey of the contrasting materials and aesthetics he has utilized in his art, all of which create a sense of nostalgia, the mammoth-sized figures and forms, making the viewer feel small in relation, much like a child in a fantastical world.

in 1988, koons created ‘banality’, his most groundbreaking collection of sculptures crafted in porcelain and wood which have since become (post-)modern icons. the series’ central theme is that of the association between human and animal which characterizes many of the pieces which are based on concepts of innocence and guilt, expressed through aesthetic means of the forgiveness of sins and the dissolution of the notion of guilt, whereby the frequent recourse to saints or individuals associated with sacredness can be seen.

the overall imagery represented through ‘banality’ is derived from renaissance and baroque art, popular culture and the world of toys and postcards, transforming in scale, medium or material from sculpture to sculpture, making his work accessible reflecting koons’ ideal that art reconciles all oppositions in order to reach as large of an audience as possible.

see PART 1 of designboom’s coverage of jeff koons at the beyeler foundation.