(Jakarta Post/ANN) - Balloon-shaped porcelain sculptures, inspired by American artist Jeff Koons’ works, are on display at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN) in Jakarta.

The porcelains are part of a limited edition collaboration between French porcelain house Bernardaud and Koons, who just made headlines after his stainless steel Rabbit sculpture was sold for US$91.1 million at a Christie’s auction – breaking the record at auction for a work by a living artist.

Indonesian furniture shop Bika Living launched the Jeff Koons X Bernardaud collection at Museum MACAN on Monday. The porcelains will be on display until May 29 at the museum’s shop, according to a press release from Museum MACAN.

The three shiny pieces – namely Balloon Swan (Magenta), Balloon Rabbit (Violet), and Balloon Monkey (Orange)­, are all derived from Koons’ sculptures of the same name.

The original Balloon Swan, created in 2004, has a personal significance for Koons, whose first sculpture made at the age of nine was a ceramic swan.

“Balloon Swan harmonizes sexual energy. If you look at it from the front, it’s totem-like and male. If you go to the side it becomes female. Balloon Swan is reminiscent of classical works, it defines beauty as sexual harmony,” Koons said in a statement.

Balloon Rabbit is steeped in the artist’s upbringing in rural Pennsylvania, where people would put inflatable rabbits in their front yard at Easter.

“I was always very struck by the generosity of the neighbors in doing that, giving pleasure to other people in that way. One of the things I’m most proud of is making work that lets viewers not feel intimidated by art, but feel that they can emotionally participate in it through their senses and their intellect and be fully engaged.”

With Balloon Monkey, Koons’ fascination with the simian has been a recurring motif in his artwork, most notably in the life-sized porcelain sculpture Michael Jackson and Bubbles created in 1988.

On May 15, Koons’ sculpture Rabbit sold at a Christie’s auction for a record-breaking $91.1 million. While the selling price was $80 million, commissions and fees bumped the figure up.

Koons also held a five-year record for a living artist from 2013 for his sculpture Balloon Dog (Orange), which sold for $58.4 million at the time.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/05/20/jeff-koons-bernardaud-lim...