CHRISTIE’S TO OFFER CELEBRATED SCULPTURE BALLOON MONKEY (BLUE)
BY JEFF KOONS AS A HIGHLIGHT IN THE OCTOBER FRIEZE WEEK EVENING SALE
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| LONDON – Christie’s is delighted to be offering Jeff Koons’ Balloon Monkey (Blue) (executed in 2006-2013) as one of the highlights of the October Frieze Week 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on 9 October 2024.
With an estimate of £6,500,000 – 10,000,000, this magnificent sculpture by Jeff Koons will be installed in St James’s Square, adjacent to Christie’s Headquarters in London, from 30 September to 9 October 2024. This work comes to auction following the success of Balloon Monkey (Magenta), sold in 2022 for £10,136,500. An evolution of Koons’ renowned Celebration series which began in 1993 and includes some of his most iconic creations—such as Balloon Dog (1994-2000)—this sculpture is one of five unique versions (Red, Magenta, Blue, Yellow, and Orange).
Katharine Arnold, Vice Chairman 20th/21st Century Art and Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Europe at Christie’s: “Following the spectacular success of Balloon Monkey (Magenta) which sold for £10.1m at Christie’s London in 2022, we are excited to be presenting Balloon Monkey (Blue) (2006-2013) for the first time at auction. Previously exhibited at Newport Street Gallery in 2016 and Palazzo Strozzi, Florence in 2021-2022, the work is a triumph in formal splendour and technical achievement refined over seven years by the artist. It is a masterpiece of paradoxical power, its contradictions oscillating between mind-bending complexity and total simplicity; seriousness and play; pop culture and our deepest, most primal structures of myth and belief. It represents something that is bigger than us, yet part of us all. For all its surface tension and extraordinary presence, the sculpture contains and holds the viewer in its façade, inviting them into a world of imagination. The work will be installed in St James’s Square from 30 September – 9 October and we look forward to welcoming visitors to enjoy it in person.” |
About Jeff Koons’ Balloon Monkey (Blue)
- The themes of air, breath and inflation have long been central to Koons’ practice. He began to explore blow-up objects as early as 1979 with his Inflatables, which found counterparts in the encased, fluorescently-lit vacuum cleaners he exhibited as The New the following year. The Equilibrium series of 1985 included basketballs suspended in tanks of water, and unnerving, weighty flotation devices made of bronze. His iconic stainless-steel Rabbit, a direct ancestor to the twisted balloon animals, appeared in 1986; the Balloon Dog arrived as part of the large-scale Celebration series commenced in the early 1990s, which reimagined objects associated with milestones such as birthdays, Easter and Valentine’s Day.Alongside Balloon Swan (2004-11) and Balloon Rabbit (2005-10), Balloon Monkey (Blue) represents an evolution of these works, developing their exuberant spirit and complex, confounding presence.
- A majestic vision, seven years in the making, Balloon Monkey (Blue) (2006-13) saw Jeff Koons’ sculptural practice reach extraordinary new heights of formal splendour, technical achievement and sheer, awe-inspiring impact. Completed on the eve of the artist’s career retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, its seductive form, monumental scale and reflective, opulently coloured surface capture the essence of his work. Koons continually probes the iconography of childhood innocence to highlight the desires and joy that animate our relationship with art.
- Balloon Monkey (Blue) is one of five unique versions of Balloon Monkey, each formed of mirror polished stainless steel with a transparent colour coating: the others are coloured red, magenta, yellow, and orange. Developing the vocabulary of the Celebration series, which included Koons’ first inflatable colossus, the iconic Balloon Dog (1994-2000), Balloon Monkey (Blue) arrives at an apex of glossy, weightless perfection. Sweeping six metres from head to tail and standing almost four metres high, it towers like a sphinx or totem, an ephemeral plaything transformed into a sublime, otherworldly object of worship.
- With its pyramidal structure and swooping, cantilevered tail, Balloon Monkey (Blue) can be seen as an abstract, almost architectural presence. Its clean lines and space-age geometries recall the work of Constantin Brâncuși, the father of modernist sculpture. Its form contains multiple layers of abstraction, from monkey to balloon representation to monolithic sculpture, as if elevated from reality to a metaphysical ideal. Koons strives for a sense of ‘objectivity’ and universality through his works’ pure, hyper-polished facture.
- Balloon Monkey (Blue) reflects key moments in Koons’ life and universal milestones, blending personal history with broader themes. Koons views the inflatable as a metaphor for the human condition, where breath symbolises life energy—an essence that can be externalised, representing the balance between our inner and outer worlds.
The 20th/21st Century Art Marquee Auctions in London and Paris
Christie’s is proud to present an exciting calendar of 20th/21st Century Art Marquee Auctions in Europe on the following dates:
London
9 October:
Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper Sale 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale
10 October:
Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
1-15 October:
Post-War and Contemporary Art – Online
Paris
17 October:
Danute and Alain Mallart Collection, Bruxelles – Paris –Vilnius
18 October:
Avant-Garde(s) including Thinking Italian
19 October:
20/21 Century Art – Day Sale
9-22 October:
Marc Chagall: Between Sky and Earth. Works formerly in the artist’s estate – Online
For more information, please visit christies.com
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About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business with a physical presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. Renowned and trusted for our expert live and online-only auctions, as well as bespoke Private Sales, Christie’s unparalleled network of specialists offers our clients a full portfolio of global services, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $500 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 7 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, launched the first fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art and manages an investment fund to support innovative startups in the art market. Christie’s is also committed to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide. To learn more, browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.
* Please note when quoting estimates above that other fees will apply in addition to the hammer price – see Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of the sale catalogue. *Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium.
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