American contemporary artist Jeff Koons brings some of his most celebrated works of art to Palazzo Strozzi in Florence for a major exhibition entitled Jeff Koons.Shine. His work will be exhibited alongside loan objects from galleries and museums around the world, exploring the concept of “shine” in his work–an ambiguous idea that oscillates between the dualities of being and seeming, or truth and sensation.

Born in York, Pennsylvania in 1955, Koons developed his aesthetic sensibilities from the objects he saw in his father’s furniture store. From an early age, he learned that a lamp or couch did not need to be exhibited in a special way; it sold itself as a viable piece of art. Fascinated by the cultural and artistic importance of popular consumer items, Koons then rose to prominence in the mid-1980s with work that transformed everyday objects into colossal spectacles.

Filmed at his studio in New York City, this episode of Meet the artists by Art Basel takes a look at the creative process behind Koons's work. Monumental sculptures like Balloon Dog (Magenta) (1994-2000), Dolphin (2002), and Bluebird Planter (2010 - 2016) are made with mirror-polished stainless steel or polychromed aluminum and finished with a translucent polychrome coating. Some critics have lauded his irreverent pop art aesthetic while others dismissed these new-era readymades as kitsch or childish; missing the fact that his art is attention-revealing rather than attention-seeking.

Having displayed art in public squares, galleries, and–to the chagrin of French traditionalists–the Palace of Versailles with Duchampian daring, Koons's latest exhibition questions the very concept of a work of art by leaning into the materials and practices that have defined his forty-year career.

Koons has said, “the job of the artist is to make a gesture and really show people what their potential is. It’s not about the object, and it’s not about the image; it’s about the viewer. That’s where the art happens.”

On every surface of Koons’s work is a reflection of the viewer. Each object acts as an intercessor, encouraging dialogue between the spectator and gallery space. His work considers duality and reality in a brilliant tableau of color and light that reflects the innate grandeur of the everyday. 

Jeff Koons.Shine runs from October 2, 2021 - January 30, 2022, at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence

Artwork featured in 'Meet the artists by Art Basel: Jeff Koons' is taken from the exhibition 'Jeff Koons Mucem. Œuvres de la Collection Pinault,' closing October 28, 2001, in Marseille