Balloon Animals missing colors are finally here!

Produced by the high-end French porcelain manufacture Bernardaud, Balloon Swan (Magenta), Balloon Rabbit (Violet) and Balloon Monkey (Orange) cover the remaining canonic „Koons colors“.

Koons´ highly acclaimed Celebration series, starting in the early 1990s, evokes with its large-scale motifs of balloon animals, wrapped Easter eggs or stacks of play-doo, cheerful and light-hearted children’s memories of birthday parties and holidays.

“IT IS ABOUT CELEBRATION AND CHILDHOOD AND COLOR AND SIMPLICITY – BUT IT’S ALSO A TROJAN HORSE. IT’S A TROJAN HORSE TO THE WHOLE BODY OF ART WORK.” - JEFF KOONS

The iconic forms of the balloon animals – dog, swan, rabbit and monkey – have been blown up to gigantic sculptures of steel, covered with a transparent chromatic coating. This finish gives the massive artworks a fragile and light appearance.

Incorporating the vocabulary of his iconic Celebration sculptures, Balloon Rabbit, Balloon Monkey and Balloon Swan marked a spectacular new chapter in Jeff Koons’s oeuvre. These subjects have captured artist’s fascination throughout history, serving as allegorical figures for universal themes such as the pursuit of pleasure, sexuality and innocence.

Koons had an epiphany when he first saw the swan’s two-dimensional form on the computer as for the artist it represents at the same time male and female aspects.

"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.” - JEFF KOONS

The figure of the swan has always had significant personal resonance for the artist; it was one of the first sculptures Koons made at 9 years old in ceramic.