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83-738: The Alliance Française de New York was founded in 1898, and the French Institute in 1911 (running the Museum of French Art ), operated as two separate organizations, the first teaching French, the second promoting French art. In 1971, they merged to form the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), which has become one of the largest centers of French–American culture and education in the United States. Located on New York City's Upper East Side in

166-483: A Beaux-Arts building reminiscent of the architecture of Georges-Eugène Haussmann in 19th century Paris, FIAF presents a mix of arts programs and events in addition to two cultural platforms, Crossing the Line , presented each fall, and World Nomads , presented each spring. FIAF's Language Center welcomes over 6,000 students each year who learn French from qualified professors, all of whom are native French speakers with

249-673: A SpaceX rocket carrying 125 of Koon's stainless steel miniature moon sculptures departed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The sculptures, named after historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Billie Holiday , were part of a larger project involving a lunar lander designed by Intuitive Machines . The lander, which also carried NASA equipment, reached the Moon on February 22. Koons, inspired by President Kennedy 's vision of space exploration , saw this project as

332-757: A Wall Street commodities broker at First Investors Corporation. After a summer with his parents in Sarasota , Florida, where he briefly worked as a political canvasser , Koons returned to New York and found a new career as a commodities broker, first at Clayton Brokerage Company and then at Smith Barney . Following his graduation from the Art Institute in Chicago in 1976, Koons made his way to New York City. There, he moved away from creating representations of his personal fantasies and began to explore objective art, commerce, and politics. He rose to prominence in

415-424: A West Highland White Terrier puppy, executed in a variety of flowers (including Marigolds , Begonias , Impatiens , Petunias , and Lobelias ) on a transparent color-coated chrome stainless steel substructure. The self-cleaning flowers would grow for the specific length of time that the piece was exhibited. The size and location of Puppy -the courtyard of a baroque palace- acknowledged the mass audience. After

498-546: A redux edition of the series. The Whitney Museum also exhibited several of the photographs on canvas in their 2014 retrospective. Koons was not among the 44 American artists selected to exhibit their work in Documenta 9 in 1992, but was commissioned by three art dealers to create a piece for nearby Arolsen Castle in Bad Arolsen , Germany. The result was Puppy , a 43 ft (13 m) tall topiary sculpture of

581-634: A vulva refers to Courbet 's L'Origine du monde (1866). The Hulk Elvis series has been exhibited at a number of international art venues such as the Gagosian Gallery in London (2007), the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong, China (2014) and the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna, Austria (2015). In 2008, Jeff Koons started working on his Antiquity series, delving into themes of

664-469: A 9.1 meter (30-foot) wide reflective wind spinner above the Slaughterhouse art space. The walls within the Slaughterhouse have been transformed by using as the base the ancient frescoes from Boscoreale , near Pompeii . The exhibition includes several other new works including a pair of bronze Nike sneakers, Gazing Ball Tripod (2020–2022), and Plato's Solid Forms Wind Spinners (2020–2022). For

747-471: A blue glass gazing ball that sits on a painted aluminum shelf attached to the front of the painting. Both viewer and painting are reflected in the gazing ball. Gazing Ball takes its name from the mirrored spherical ornaments frequently found on lawns, gardens, and patios around Koons's childhood home in Pennsylvania. After creating Gazing Ball paintings, Koons also made several white sculptures from

830-555: A bouquet of multicolor balloon flowers blown up to gargantuan proportions (more than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and 5 m (16 ft) across). Koons started to work on Balloon Flower in 1995. Koons was pushing to finish the series in time for a 1996 exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, but the show was ultimately canceled because of production delays and cost overruns. When "Celebration" funding ran out,

913-480: A degree in teaching French as a foreign language. FIAF is also home to the Haskell Library, the largest private French library in the United States, and was cited by Time Out New York as one of the city's top cultural institutions. FIAF presents a mix of programs in music, dance, theater, cinema, and visual arts in addition to two annual festivals, Crossing the Line , in the fall, and World Nomads , in

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996-453: A limited combination of vacuum cleaners and arranged them in cabinets accordingly, juxtaposing the verticality of the upright cleaners with the squat cylinders of the "Shelton Wet/Dry drum" cleaners. At the museum, the machines were displayed as if in a showroom , and oriented around a central red fluorescent lightbox with just the words "The New" written on it as if it were announcing some new concept or marketing brand. They were shown again in

1079-431: A living artist , for the sale of "Rabbit". The third version of the piece was sold at Christie's Auction House for US$ 80 million which. After including auctioneer's fees, the final sale price of "Rabbit" was US$ 91,075,000. The Rabbit has since returned to its original soft form, and many times larger at more than 50 feet high, taken to the air. On October 15, 2009, the giant metallic monochrome color rabbit used during

1162-424: A major solo show at Jeff Koons: The New Encased Works at Daniel Weinberg Gallery in 1987. Another example for Koons's early work is The Equilibrium Series (1983), consisting of one to three basketballs floating in distilled water , a project the artist had researched with the help of Nobel Prize -winning physicist Richard Feynman . The Total Equilibrium Tanks are completely filled with distilled water and

1245-587: A minor role in the 2008 film Milk playing state assemblyman Art Agnos . In September 2012, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave Koons the task of helping to review the designs for a new Tappan Zee Bridge . In 2019, Koons unveiled Bouquet of Tulips , an 11-meter high commemorative sculpture in Paris modelled on the Statue of Liberty , honoring the victims of the November 2015 attacks . In February 2024,

1328-507: A model in the shoot that formed the basis of the resulting work for the Whitney, Made in Heaven (1990–1991). Including works with such titles as Dirty Ejaculation and Ilonaʼs Asshole , the series of enormous grainy photographs printed on canvas, glassworks, and sculptures portrayed Koons and Staller in highly explicit sexual positions and created considerable controversy. The paintings of

1411-541: A much smaller studio space. He now uses technology to create his artistic references on computers and color-corrects them until he is satisfied with the results. To ensure consistency, Koons implemented a color-by-numbers system, so that each of his assistants could execute his canvases and sculptures as if they had been done "by a single hand". Throughout his career, he has consistently explored themes such as consumerist behavior, seduction, banality, and childhood, among others. Jeff Koons first began experimenting with

1494-443: A panoramic view of society. The sculptures drew inspiration from historical figures like Louis XIV and Bob Hope , as well as other art historical themes and sources. Through Statuary, Koons redirected his artistic focus toward the concept of artistic taste and the societal role of art. He incorporated some readymade objects, including the inflatable rabbit, and transformed them into highly polished stainless-steel pieces. This led to

1577-406: A parallel might be drawn between the comic book hero Hulk and Asian guardian Gods . The three-dimensional works Hulk (Friends) and Hulks (Bell) (both 2004–2012) feature apparently inflatable Incredible Hulks that weigh almost a ton each and are made of bronze and wood. The sculpture Hulk (Organ) (2004–2014) includes a fully functional musical instrument whose potential deep sounds match

1660-446: A rabbit of various heights and colors, positioned along with mirrors. Koons drew inspiration from Robert Smithson's emphasis on display and connected his work to his father's furniture store displays. He documented his work through photography, using it as a means of exploring different installation techniques. Since 1979 Koons has produced work within series. His early work was in the form of conceptual sculpture, an example of which

1743-610: A series of five differently colored examples, part of his Celebration series. Large sculptures from that series were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2008. Later additions to the series include Balloon Swan (2004–2011), an 11.5-foot (3.5-meter), stainless-steel bird, Balloon Rabbit (2005–2010), and Balloon Monkey , all for which children's party favors are reconceived as mesmerizing monumental forms. The series also includes, in addition to sculptures, sixteen oil paintings. Commissioned by

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1826-562: A series of three life-size gold-leaf plated porcelain statues of the sitting singer cuddling Bubbles , his pet chimpanzee. Three years later, one of these sold at Sotheby's New York for US$ 5.6 million. Two of these sculptures are now at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) in downtown Los Angeles. The statue was included in a 2004 retrospective at

1909-455: A similar mode as Andy Warhol 's Factory . Koons's work is produced using a method known as art fabrication . Until 2019, Koons had a 1,500 m (16,000 sq ft) studio factory near the old Hudson rail yards in Chelsea employing 90 to 120 assistants to produce his work. More recently, Koons has downsized staffing and shifted to more automated forms of production and relocated to

1992-626: A small amount of ordinary salt, to assist the hollow balls in remaining suspended in the centre of the liquid. In a second version, the 50/50 Tanks , only half the tank is filled with distilled water, with the result that the balls float half in and half out of the water. In addition, Koons conceived and fabricated five unique works for the Encased series (1983–1993/98), sculptures consisting of stacked sporting balls (four rows of six basketballs each, and one row of six soccer balls) with their original cardboard packaging in glass display case. Also part of

2075-555: A specialist and give the piece "radical plastic surgery." After this experience he felt liberated: "I was now free to work with objects that did not necessarily pre-exist. I could create models." Koons then moved on to the Banality series. For this project he engaged workshops in Germany and Italy that had a long tradition of working in ceramic , porcelain , and wood. The series culminated in 1988 with Michael Jackson and Bubbles,

2158-579: A studio assistant in the late 1970s. He lived in Lakeview , and then in the Pilsen neighborhood at Halsted Street and 19th Street. After college, Koons moved to New York in 1977 and worked at the membership desk of the Museum of Modern Art while establishing himself as an artist. During this time, he dyed his hair red and often wore a pencil mustache, after Salvador Dalí. In 1980, he became licensed to sell mutual funds and stocks and began working as

2241-727: A teenager he revered Salvador Dalí so much that he visited him at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City . Koons studied painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore before transferring to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago , where he studied from 1975 to 1976. While a student at the Art Institute, Koons met the artist Ed Paschke , who became a major influence and for whom Koons worked as

2324-430: A work by a living artist : US$ 58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013 and US$ 91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019. Critics come sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch , crass, and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings or critiques in his works. Koons

2407-471: Is The Pre-New , a series of domestic objects attached to light fixtures, resulting in strange new configurations. Another example is The New , a series of vacuum-cleaners , often selected for brand names that appealed to the artist like the iconic Hoover , which he had mounted in illuminated Perspex boxes. Koons first exhibited these pieces in the window of the New Museum in New York in 1980. He chose

2490-459: Is a Higher Private Education Institute. It is an association from the law 1901. Located in the centre of the capital, the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France sees more than 11,000 students from 160 countries arrive every year to learn French. It is also the oldest one since the school has offered courses in Paris since 1894. Until 2007, the year of creation of the Alliance française Foundation,

2573-522: Is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name Alliance française pour la propagation de la langue nationale dans les colonies et à l'étranger (French alliance for the propagation of the national language in the colonies and abroad), known now simply as L'Alliance française , its primary goal

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2656-448: Is currently curated by Lili Chopra , Simon Dove , and Gideon Lester . World Nomads , which launched in 2008, is a month–long series each spring which focuses on transculturalism and the cross–cultural exchange of artistic style, expression, and ideas. Serving as a platform for dialogue between French and Francophone cultures, World Nomads features programs in theater, film, music, visual arts, and literature. World Nomads has presented

2739-431: Is displayed outside the casino entrance at Wynn's Encore Boston Harbor hotel and casino property. Hulk Elvis is a work series by Koons created between 2004 and 2014. The works range from precision-machined bronze sculptures—inspired by an inflatable of the popular comic book hero and extruded in three dimensions—to large-scale oil paintings . The work series' title combines the popular comic book hero Hulk with

2822-856: Is part of the network of Alliances françaises de France. The Netherlands counts 32 Alliances Françaises, the main one being located in The Hague, followed by 3 major other one in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. This network is very dynamic and powerful. Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons ( / k uː n z / ; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York , Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for

2905-467: Is teaching French as a second language . Headquartered in Paris, the Alliance had 850 centers in 137 countries on every inhabited continent in 2014. The Alliance was created in Paris on 21 July 1883 by a group including the scientist Louis Pasteur , the diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps , the writers Jules Verne and Ernest Renan , and the publisher Armand Colin . The project was directly linked to

2988-677: The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo which traveled a year later to the Helsinki City Art Museum . It also featured in his second retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago , in 2008. The statue is currently part of the collection at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art at Tjuvholmen in Oslo. His work Christ and the Lamb (1988) has been analyzed as an acknowledgment and critique of

3071-627: The Deutsche Guggenheim in 1999, Koons created the first seven paintings of the new series, Easyfun , comprising paintings and wall-mounted sculptures. In 2001, Koons undertook a series of paintings, Easyfun-Ethereal , using a collage approach that combined bikinis, food, and landscapes painted under his supervision by assistants. The series eventually expanded to twenty-four paintings. In 2000, Koons designed Split-Rocker , his second floral sculpture made of stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, and an internal irrigation system, which

3154-567: The Equilibrium series are posters featuring basketball stars in Nike advertisements and 10 bronze objects, representing lifesaving gear. In 1986, Jeff Koons introduced the Statuary series, featuring ten pieces that reimagined his earlier inflatable series from the 1970s. The series aimed to illustrate how art often mirrors self-perception and evolves into decorative expression by presenting

3237-500: The Luxury and Degradation series Koons interfered into the realms of the social. He created an artificial and gleaming surface which represented a proletarian luxury. It was interpreted as seduction by simulation because it was fake luxury. Being the producer of this deception brought him to a kind of leadership, as he commented himself. The same material of stainless steel was used for the statue of Kiepenkerl . After being rebuilt in

3320-414: The Luxury and Degradation series is a group of works thematically centered on alcohol . This group included a stainless steel travel cocktail cabinet, a Baccarat crystal decanter and other hand-made renderings of alcohol-related paraphernalia, as well as reprinted and framed ads for drinks such as Gordon's Gin ("I Could Go for Something Gordon's"), Hennessy ("Hennessy, The Civilized Way to Lay Down

3403-508: The 1950s, the figure of the itinerant trader was replaced by Jeff Koons in 1987 for the decennial Skulptur Projekte exhibition. Standing on a central square in Münster, the statue retained a certain cultural power as a nostalgic symbol of the past. During the production process, the foundry where the piece was being made wanted to knock the ceramic shell off too soon, which resulted in the piece being bent and deformed. Koons decided to bring in

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3486-618: The 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving day parade was put on display for Nuit Blanche in the Eaton Centre in Toronto. The other objects of the series combine objects Koons found in souvenir shops and baroque imagery, thereby playing with the distinction between low art and high art. First shown in Koons's eponymous exhibitions at the short-lived International With Monument Gallery, New York, and at Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, in 1986,

3569-570: The 2007–2008 season in the Vienna State Opera , Koons designed the large-scale picture (176 sqm) Geisha as part of the exhibition series "Safety Curtain", conceived by museum in progress . Koons worked with American pop performer Lady Gaga on her 2013 studio album Artpop , including the creation of its cover artwork featuring a sculpture he made of Lady Gaga. In September 2014, the bi-annual arts and culture publication GARAGE Magazine published Koons's first ever digital artwork for

3652-775: The Alliance française Paris Île-de-France was called "the Paris Alliance française". It was divided into three branches: the International Relations (DRI), the School of Paris , and the Department of Human and Financial Resources (DRHF). In 2007, the DRI has become the Alliance française Foundation, while the School and the DRHF became the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France. Three conventions are now governing

3735-653: The Arolsen Puppy had 20,000 plants, the Sydney version held around 60,000. The piece was purchased in 1997 by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and installed on the terrace outside the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao . Before the dedication at the museum, an Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) trio disguised as gardeners attempted to plant explosive-filled flowerpots near the sculpture, but was foiled by Basque police officer Jose María Aguirre, who then

3818-500: The Brant Foundation Art Study Center. In 1998, a miniature version of Puppy was released as a white glazed porcelain vase, in an edition of 3000. Koons's Celebration was to honor the ardently hoped-for return of Ludwig from Rome . The series, consisting of a series of large-scale sculptures and paintings of balloon dogs, Valentine hearts, diamonds, and Easter eggs , was conceived in 1994. Some of

3901-516: The Greco-Roman era along with everyday utilitarian objects encountered in today's suburban and rural landscape, such as mailboxes and a birdbath. In June 2022, Dakis Jouannou commissioned Koons to create an artwork for his space at DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, on the Greek island of Hydra . Koons created the series Apollo, including a sculpture titled Apollo Wind Spinner (2020–2022),

3984-557: The Law"), Bacardi ("Aquí... el gran sabor del ron Bacardi"), Dewars ("The Empire State of Scotch"), Martell ("I Assume You Drink Martell") and Frangelico ("Stay in Tonight" and "Find a Quiet Table") in seductively intensified colors on canvas Koons appropriated these advertisements and revalued them by recontextualizing them into artworks. They "deliver a critique of traditional advertising that supports Baudrillard 's censorious view of

4067-463: The Line , FIAF's fall festival, was launched in 2007 as a platform to present new works by a range of trans–disciplinary artists from both sides of the Atlantic. Initiated, conceived, and produced by FIAF in partnership with leading New York cultural institutions the festival presents original work with a specific focus on the artist's role as a thinker and catalyst for social change. Crossing the Line

4150-1890: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Presented by Phyllis Collins. 2009: Robert Wilson Theater and Visual Artist. Founder of the Watermill Center. Presented by Isabelle Huppert. 2010: Marc Jacobs Fashion Designer. Presented by Anna Wintour. 2011: Alain Ducasse Chef. Presented by Stanley Tucci. 2012: Angélique Kidjo Musician. Presented by Vanessa Redgrave. 2013: François Cluzet Actor. Presented by Jean Reno. 2014: Jacques Grange Interior Designer. Presented by Barbara Gladstone. 2015: Françoise Gilot Painter and Writer. Presented by Charlie Rose 2016: Jeff Koons Artist. Presented by Larry Gagosian. 2017: Peter Marino Architect. Presented by Janine Hill 2018: Jane Fonda Actress and Activist. Presented by Sam Waterston. 2019: Charlotte Gainsbourg Actress and Musician. Presented by Anne-Claire Legendre. 2020: No ceremony. 2021: Marc Lévy Writer. Presented by Susanna Lee. 2022: Jean Reno Actor. Presented by Matthew Broderick. 2006: Bertrand Collomb Chairman of Lafarge 2007: Pierre Bellon Chairman and Founder of Sodexo 2008: Jean-Bernard Lévy CEO of Vivendi 2009: Bernard Poussot Retired Chairman, President and CEO of Wyeth 2010: Christophe de Margerie Chairman and CEO of Total. 2011: Paul Desmarais, Jr. Chairman of Power Corporation of Canada 2012: Thierry Breton CEO of ATOS 2013: Carlos Ghosn Chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance. 2014: Fabrice Grinda Internet Entrepreneur Alliance Fran%C3%A7aise Alliance française ( French pronunciation: [aljɑ̃s fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ; "French Alliance") or AF

4233-1708: The Pilier D’Or, also awarded during the annual Trophée des Arts gala and dinner, which recognized select individuals who made a lasting impact lasting impact on the development of the organization. Beginning in 2006, the Pilier d’Or began recognizing a leading business figure for their outstanding contributions to the French-American relations. 1992: Louis Malle Film Director. 1993: Jerome Robbins Choreographer. Presented by Corice Arman. 1994: Jean-Pierre Rampal Flutist. Presented by Liliane Montevecchi. 1995: Jessye Norman Singer. Presented by Kevin Kline. 1996: Charles Aznavour Singer/composer. Presented by Liza Minnelli. 1997: Lauren Bacall Actress. Presented by Gregory Peck. 1998: Catherine Deneuve Actress. 1999: Quincy Jones Musician/Producer. Presented by Francine Haskell. 2000: Michel Legrand Composer. Presented by François Bujon de l'Estang 2001: Jeanne Moreau Actress. Presented by François Bujon de l'Estang 2002: Christian Lacroix Fashion designer. Presented by François Bujon de l'Estang 2003: Isabelle Huppert Actress. Presented by Jean-David Levitte. 2004: No ceremony. 2005: Daniel Lamarre on behalf of Cirque du Soleil Contemporary Circus Performer. Presented by Jean-David Levitte 2006: Charlie Rose Broadcast Journalist. Presented by Bernard-Henry Levy. 2007: James Ivory Film Director. Presented by Uma Thurman. 2008: Philippe de Montebello Director of

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4316-543: The Trophée des Arts in 1992, a gala and award ceremony honoring distinguished artists or cultural icons who have made significant contributions to French-American culture. The dinner and auctions raise funds to support FIAF’s mission to teach French and celebrate francophone cultures and creativity around the world. Notable recipients include Louis Malle , Jerome Robbins , Isabelle Huppert , Angelique Kidjo , Jeff Koons , and Jane Fonda . Beginning in 1995, FIAF established

4399-560: The ads were designed as promotions for his own gallery exhibitions. Koons also issued Signature Plate , an edition for Parkett magazine, with a photographic decal in colors on a porcelain plate with gold-plated rim. Arts journalist Arifa Akbar reported for The Independent that in "an era when artists were not regarded as 'stars', Koons went to great lengths to cultivate his public persona by employing an image consultant". Featuring photographs by Matt Chedgey, Koons placed "advertisements in international art magazines of himself surrounded by

4482-482: The ancient world. In 1999, Koons commissioned a song about himself on Momus 's album Stars Forever . A drawing similar to his Tulip Balloons was placed on the front page of the Internet search engine Google . The drawing greeted all who visited Google's main page on April 30, 2008, and May 1, 2008. In 2006 Koons appeared on Artstar , an unscripted television series set in the New York art world. He had

4565-641: The centres run by the Alliance , whose network of schools includes: The organizations outside Paris are local, independently run franchises . Each has a committee and a president. The Alliance française brand is owned by the Paris centre. In many countries, the Alliance française of Paris is represented by a Délégué général . The French Government also runs 150 separate French Cultural Institutes that exist to promote French language and culture. The Alliances organize social and cultural events, such as art exhibitions, movie festivals, social gatherings, book clubs. The Alliance française Paris Ile-de-France

4648-578: The colonial aims of the French Third Republic . France believed it could spread civilization to colonies and promote French imperial grandeur by propagating their language internationally. The organization finances most of its activities from the fees it receives from its courses and from rental of its installations. The French government also provides a subsidy covering approximately five percent of its budget (nearly 665,000 € in 2003) More than 440,000 students learn French at one of

4731-461: The costly fabrication of the Celebration series at Southern California-based Carlson & Company (including his Balloon Dog and Moon series), and later, at Arnold, a Frankfurt -based company. The dealers funded the project in part by selling works to collectors before they were fabricated. In 2006, Koons presented Hanging Heart , a 9-foot-tall highly polished, steel heart, one of

4814-529: The creation of one of his most iconic works, Rabbit (1986). There are three identical versions of Rabbit . One version was previously part of art collector Stefan Edlis's personal collection, but it now resides as a gift at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and another in The Broad Museum in Los Angeles. In May 15, 2019, Jeff Koons set a record for most expensive piece sold by

4897-921: The cultures of Africa, Haiti , and Lebanon over the first three editions. In addition to its two annual festivals and its cinema series, FIAF hosts cultural events such as its Art de Vivre series, which focuses on the art of French living. This series includes events such as fashion talks and wine tastings, culinary workshops as well as gardening, and has brought to FIAF Catherine Malandrino , Diane von Fürstenberg , Marc Jacobs , Tommy Hilfiger , and Mireille Guiliano . Music concerts, plays, and literary talks, are also among FIAF's yearly cultural programming. Artists such as singer Jane Birkin , and actor Édouard Baer have performed in FIAF's Florence Gould Hall , and authors such as Paul Auster , Bernard-Henri Lévy , Francine du Plessix Gray , and Edmund White , have come to FIAF to discuss their respective works. FIAF established

4980-478: The figure's powerful and masculine appearance. The series' paintings are collages made of several photoshop layers. The images range from abstract landscapes to elements of American iconography (trains, horses, carriages) and comprise characters such as the Hulk or an inflatable plastic monkey. The landscape paintings often have explicit or implicit sexual content. For example, a recurrent crude line drawing of

5063-428: The front of its print edition. The piece, titled Lady Bug , is an augmented reality sculpture that can only be viewed on mobile devices through a GARAGE Magazine app, which allows viewers to explore the piece from a variety of angles as if standing on top of it. In 2012, Koons bought Advanced Stone Technologies, an offshoot of the non-profit Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture 's stone division. He moved

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5146-467: The head of a giant child's rocker. Koons produced two editions of the sculpture. As of 2014, he owns one of them; the other is displayed at Glenstone in Maryland. At Glenstone, Split-Rocker is in bloom from mid-May to mid-October, and requires daily caretaking during that period. In summer 2014 Split-Rocker was installed at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City for several months in coincidence with

5229-510: The high-tech stone workshop from New Jersey to a larger, 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m ) space near Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania . The facility exists solely to fabricate Koons's works made of stone. In 2013 Koons created the sculpture Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), which was inspired by the Farnese Hercules . The sculpture is made from white plaster and can be interpreted as perpetuating colorism in how we view

5312-457: The imposing scale of classical sculpture. In this series presented at Gagosian Gallery in 2015, Koons has taken 35 masterpieces, including Manet's Déjeuner sur l'Herbe , Géricault's Raft of the Medusa and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait Wearing a Hat , had them repainted in oil on canvas, and added a little shelf, painted as if it had sprouted directly from the image. Each work includes

5395-632: The metal sculptures. He reinterprets historical figures through the creation of balloon-like sculptures, such as the Metallic Venus, and by integrating representative figures and characters from comic books. Referring to the ancient Roman marble statue Callipygian Venus , Metallic Venus (2010–2012) was made of high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating and live flowering plants. In Ballerinas (2010–2014), Koons depicts figurines of dancers, derived from decorative porcelain works designed by Ukrainian artist Oksana Zhnikrup , at

5478-451: The mid-1980s as part of a generation of artists who explored the meaning of art in a newly media-saturated era with his Pre-new The New series. With recognition came the establishment of a factory-like studio located in a loft at the corner of Houston Street and Broadway in New York in SoHo . It was staffed with over 30 assistants, each assigned to a different aspect of producing his work—in

5561-404: The obscene promiscuity of consumer signs". Another work, Jim Beam – J.B. Turner Engine (1986), is based on a commemorative, collectible in bottle in the form of a locomotive that was created by Jim Beam ; however, Koons appropriated this model and had it cast in gleaming stainless-steel. The train model cast in steel titled Jim Beam – Baggage Car (1986) even contains Jim Beam bourbon. With

5644-567: The opening of Koons's retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art . Paintings and sculptures from the Popeye series, which Koons began in 2002, feature the cartoon figures of Popeye and Olive Oyl . One such item is a stainless steel reproduction of a mass-market PVC Popeye figurine. The artist will also make use of inflatable animals again, this time in combination with ladders, trashcans and fences. To create these sculptures,

5727-448: The outbreak that followed his Made in Heaven series, Koons decided to make "an image that communicated warmth and love to people." In 1995, in a co-venture between Museum of Contemporary Art , Kaldor Public Art Projects and Sydney Festival , the sculpture was dismantled and re-erected at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sydney Harbour on a new, more permanent, stainless steel armature with an internal irrigation system. While

5810-567: The pieces are still being fabricated. Each of the 20 different sculptures in the series comes in five differently colored "unique versions", including the artist's cracked Egg (Blue) which won the 2008 Charles Wollaston Award for the most distinguished work in the Royal Academy 's Summer Exhibition . The Diamond pieces were created between 1994 and 2005, made of shiny stainless steel seven-feet wide. Created in an edition of five versions, his later work Tulips (1995–2004) consists of

5893-425: The pop icon Elvis . The triple image of the Hulk figure recalls Andy Warhol 's silk-screen printing Triple Elvis (1963), regarding both the multiplication and the posture of the Hulk figure. According to the artist, the Hulk Elvis series with its strong, heroic image of the Hulk represents "a very high- testosterone body of work". Koons also perceives the series as "a bridge between East and West", since

5976-494: The portrayal of eros , fertility, and feminine beauty across the history of art. At the center of each scene in the Antiquity paintings (2009–2013) is a famous ancient or classical sculpture, meticulously rendered in oil paint and scaled to the same size as the sculptures. The equally detailed backdrops include an Arcadian vision. Koons makes use of contemporary technology, including CT scans and digital imaging, to produce

6059-460: The relations between the Foundation and the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France: Alliance française Montpellier is a French language school in the south of France, a private higher education institution providing French courses for foreigners ( FLE ) and a non-profit association, established in accordance with the statutes and objectives of the Alliance française Foundation. This study centre

6142-563: The series reference art from the Baroque and Rococo periods—among others, Gian Lorenzo Bernini , Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher —and also draw upon the breakthroughs of early modern painters as Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet . The series was first shown at the 1990 Venice Biennale . Koons reportedly destroyed much of the work when Staller took their son Ludwig with her to Italy. In celebration of Made in Heaven' s 20th anniversary, Luxembourg & Dayan chose to present

6225-649: The spiritual and meditative power of the Rococo. Anticipating a less than generous critical response to his 1988 Banality series exhibition, with all of his new objects made in an edition of three, allowing for simultaneous, identical shows at galleries in New York, Cologne, and Chicago, Koons devised the Art Magazine Ads series (1988–1989). Placed in Artforum , Art in America , Flash Art , and Art News,

6308-470: The spring. FIAF also offers a variety of programs throughout the year including its longstanding weekly cinema series, CinémaTuesdays , Art de Vivre , a lifestyle series bringing the art and style of French living to New York audiences with evenings devoted to food, wine, fashion, and gardening, and the Gallery, which presents exhibitions of French and Francophone contemporary art and photography. Crossing

6391-427: The staff was laid off, a crew of two: Gary McCraw, Koons's studio manager, who had been with him since 1990, and Justine Wheeler, an artist from South Africa, who had arrived in 1995 and eventually took charge of the sculpture operation. The artist convinced his primary collectors Dakis Joannou , Peter Brant , and Eli Broad , along with dealers Jeffrey Deitch , Anthony d'Offay , and Max Hetzler , to invest heavily in

6474-526: The toys get a layer of coating after finding the right shape. Then a hard copy is made and sent to the foundry to be cast in aluminium. Back in the studio the sculptures are painted in order to achieve the shiny look of the original inflatables. For these surrealist installations, Acrobat in particular, Koons got inspiration from the Chicago Imagist H.C. Westermann . The Popeye sculpture was purchased by billionaire Steve Wynn for $ 28 million and it

6557-492: The trappings of success" and gave interviews "referring to himself in the third person". In 1989, the Whitney Museum and its guest curator Marvin Heiferman asked Koons to make an artwork about the media on a billboard for the show "Image World: Art and Media Culture". The billboard was meant as an advertisement for an unmade movie, entitled Made in Heaven. Koons employed his then-wife Ilona Staller (" Cicciolina ") as

6640-457: The use of ready-made objects and modes of display in his apartment in 1976. His fascination with the extravagant world of luxurious goods and their more affordable counterparts led him to collect items like toys, metallic finishes, leopard skin, and porcelain. Between 1977 and 1979 Koons produced four separate artworks, which he later referred to as Early Works. In 1978 he began working on his Inflatables series, consisting of inflatable flowers and

6723-477: Was born in York, Pennsylvania , to Henry Koons and Nancy Loomis. His father was a furniture dealer and interior decorator. His mother was a seamstress. When he was nine years old, his father would place old master paintings that Koons copied and signed in the window of his shop in an attempt to attract visitors. As a child he went door-to-door after school selling gift-wrapping paper and candy to earn pocket money. As

6806-512: Was first shown at the Palais des Papes in Avignon , France. Like Puppy , it is covered with around 27,000 live flowers, including petunias , begonias , impatiens , geraniums and marigolds . Weighing 150 tons and soaring over 37 feet high, Split-Rocker is composed of two halves: one based on a toy pony belonging to one of Koons's sons, the other based on a toy dinosaur. Together, they form

6889-454: Was shot dead by ETA members. Currently the square in which the statue is placed bears the name of Aguirre. In the summer of 2000, the statue traveled to New York City for a temporary exhibition at Rockefeller Center . Media mogul Peter Brant and his wife, model Stephanie Seymour , commissioned Koons to create a duplicate of the Bilbao statue Puppy (1993) for their Connecticut estate,

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