Date posted: November 21, 2006

A Cracked Egg by Jeff Koons

The South-China Morning Post (November 19, 2006) ran a profile of and interview with Jeff Koons, who has been making something of a comeback in recent years. With his exploration of decadence, celebrity, popular culture, kitsch and the media he had become one of the icons of the 80s. He sort of disappeared from view in the late 90s, or at least from my radar, but today he is seen as the link between Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.

I remember going to a major retrospective of his work at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1992. The acquisition some years earlier, in 1989, of Ushering in Banality by the Stedelijk Museum had caused a bit of a row, and the exhibition attracted a lot of media attention and large crowds. The exhibition included sculptures and photos from the Made in Heaven series, the works Koons created with his then wife, Italian porn star Ilona Staller aka La Cicciolina. Some of these works and an image of Koons kissing Staller at their wedding can also be seen in the music video for U2's Even Better Than The Real Thing (between 2:13 and 2:45, towards the end some images of his terrier and flower sculptures flash by).

The odd thing is that these works and Jeff Koons himself now inspire a sense of nostalgia. Pornography as art has become mainstream. The internet bubble was more decadent than the 80s and this and last year were perhaps even more decadent.

I never really knew what to think of his work. I sort of liked what he was trying to say, but I didn't really like any of his works. But I love one of his most recent works, Cracked Egg, which is on show at the Gagosian Gallery in London's Davies Street until December 22. With its shiny surface, sharp edges and empty shell it is at once highly aesthetic and meaningful.

Incidentally, Jeff Koons started out as a broker, before becoming or breaking through as an artist. So there's still hope.