Archival pigment inkjet with screenprint on hot-pressed natural paper
USA, 2014
Jeff Koons (b. 1955) – American artist
Aside from an edition of 40
Numbered printer’s proof in lower left recto
Signed by the artist and date din the lower right recto
Image dimensions: 40 x 48 7/8 in. (101.6 x 124.1 cm)
Sheet 45 x 54 ½ in. (114.3 x 138.4 cm)
Excellent condition
Estimate: $45,000-$65,000

Jeff Koons gives us his interpretation of a sexy Betty Boop-like female in black lingerie standing with her legs surrounding an inflatable lobster pool toy. Adding to the eroticism of this image, the artist places a line drawing in screenprint of a vulva over the top of the image. Central to the composition is the lobster pool toy, a symbol of joy and sensory stimulation for anybody loving summer pool activities. But here it is presented as a more fetishistic toy for adult pleasures. Koons has noted that “…the (Lobster’s arms) could be fallopian tubes and its body could be the womb. If you look at its tail, it’s almost like a stripper with a boa doing a feather dance, and also has tentacles that look like Dali’s mustache.” (N. Hartvig, “’It’s Somebody Having Sex’: Jeff Koons Bares the Subject of His Art in Brussels,” The Huffington Post, December 15 2012). Koons’ lobster subject matter also pays tribute to one of his favorite artists, Salvador Dali and refers directly to that artist’s canonical Surrealist work, the 1936 Lobster Telephone, an absurdist piece in which the Dali affixed a rubber lobster to a telephone receiver. A mirror polished sculpture by Koons of the same inflatable toy titledLobster, sold at Christies, New York on May 10, 2016, for $6,885,000 with premium. In excellent condition, this print is rare to auction.

Jeff Koons (United States, b. 1955)

The American artist Jeff Koons is one of the most successful contemporary artists living today. In his works, Koons continually plays with precious and cheap material culture, alternating because art historical and socially obscene. His oeuvre is therefore characterized by a garish, loud and colorful style which culminates in his monumental sculptures that oscillate between the pillars of “fine art” and “kitsch”.

Condition

In overall excellent condition.

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