Jeff Koons
Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000
high chromium stainless steel, mirrored polish finish with transparent color coating
114 x 132 x 108 in. (289.6 x 335.3 x 274.3 cm.)
(Estimate on request)
CHRISTIE’S TO SELL KOONS BALLOON FLOWER IN JUNE EVENING SALE IN LONDON
Most Valuable and Significant Work of Art By Jeff Koons To Be Presented In London For The First Time in Landmark Exhibition and Sale
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May 27th 2008 – Christie’s is pleased to announce that it will offer Jeff Koons’s Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-1999 from the Rachofsky Collection of Dallas at its June 30 Evening Sale in London (estimate on request). The sale of this work will be a landmark event, as it is the first time a work of this scale and quality by Jeff Koons has been publicly offered in London, and on June 19 Christie’s will unveil Balloon Flower (Magenta) in the very heart of the city at the garden of St. James’s Square.
With its monumental scale, mirrored surface and magnificent magenta color, Jeff Koons’s gleaming and seductive sculpture based upon a balloon twisted into the shape of a purply-pink wide-open bloom stands as a celebrated icon within the oeuvre of one of the most influential artists working today. Not only is the magenta version a unique color of only four other Balloon Flower works but it is also the only one coated in a hue, which carries both lifelike and manufactured associations. As the most beautiful and important work within the Celebration series, which took the artist nearly a decade to realize and is considered his creative zenith, Balloon Flower (Magenta) appears inspired by floral shapes in nature yet pushes the bounds of industrial fabrication with its many sensuous curves and twists. Koons draws upon his recurring use of the flower form, while at the same time realizing his most compelling work to date. In doing so the sculpture optimistically pays homage to a moment and object associated with life’s celebratory and cyclical events such as birthdays and holidays.
“We are thrilled to present this dynamic and highly-acclaimed sculpture at our London June Evening sale,” said Amy Cappellazzo, Deputy Chairman and International Co-Head of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art sales. “The extraordinary quality of this work combined with Koons’s esteemed position within the international marketplace makes it a particular delight for us to handle the sale on behalf of the Rachofsky Collection.”
“Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000,” has been one of the most cherished works in the Rachofsky Collection,” said Allan Schwartzman, Director of the Rachofsky Collection “And yet its sale will enable them to expand and evolve what they believe to be the unique core of their collection in ways
that would otherwise be unachievable. Proceeds from this sale will be used to advance the curatorial commitment of the Rachofsky Collection, and its singular focus on collecting major historical works by Italian masters of the 1950’s, Arte Povera, American Minimalism, and Post-war German painting.” In 2005, Howard and Cindy Rachofsky gifted their collection by bequest to the Dallas Museum of Art.
The Rachofsky Collection consists of artwork by international artists working in the last century and focuses on two general themes: artwork from the 1960s that explores that nature of sculpture and painting, with special emphasis on American minimalism and Italian art associated with the Arte Povera movement, and contemporary work that explores notions of identity and the self.
Christie’s will present Jeff Koons’s Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000 at St James’s Square in London from June 19-30 as part of the sales preview for its highly-anticipated Post-War and Contemporary Art Sales in London that take place on June 30 and July 1. Christie’s has secured exceptional prices at auction for works by Jeff Koons this spring and last fall in the New York Post- War and Contemporary Art Evening Sales, including New Hoover Convertibles, New Shelton Wet/Drys 5- Gallon, Double Decker and Diamond (Blue); each work achieved $11.8 million.
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