Jeff Koons (b. 1955)

Yorkshire Terriers

Details

Jeff Koons (b. 1955)
Yorkshire Terriers
incised with signature, number and date 'J Koons 3/3 '91' (on the underside)
polychromed wood
17½ x 20½ x 17 in.
Executed in 1991. This work is number three from an edition of three plus one artist's proof.

Provenance

Sonnabend, New York
Private Collection, New York

Literature

Double Take: Collective Memory and Current Art, exh. cat., South Bank Centre, London, 1992, p. 178 (illustrated in color).
A. Spinkle, "Hard-Core Heaven: Unsafe Sex with Jeff Koons," Arts Magazine, (March 1992), p. 47 (illustrated in color).
J. C. Amman, Jeff Koons, Cologne, 1992, p. 39, no. 31 (illustrated in color).
J. Koons and R. Rosenblum, The Jeff Koons Handbook, London, 1992, pp. 124-125 (illustrated in color).
A. Muthesius, Jeff Koons, Cologne, 1992, pp. 148-149 and back cover (illustrated in color).
M. Gayford, "What's Yours is Mine," Sunday Telegraph, London, 26 July 1992, p. 1 (illustrated).
J. Joseph, "Penetrating Art Dekko," The Times Review, London, 17 October 1992, pp. 1-2 (illustrated).

Exhibited

New York, Sonnabend; and Cologne, Galerie Max Hetzler, Jeff Koons: Made in Heaven, November-December 1991 (another example exhibited). Lausanne, Galerie Lehmann, Made in Heaven, September-November 1992 (another example exhibited).

Lot Essay

Skillfully carved in wood and painted by European artisans, Yorkshire Terriers, 1991 was included in the now infamous series and exhibition Made in Heaven where Jeff Koons and his then wife the Italian porn star Cicciolina were entwined together in various graphic sexual acts. Amongst these more sexual paintings and sculptures, were a group of other sculptures, in marble, glass or wood in subjects such as self-portraits, flowers, cherubs and dogs.
As an artist Koons embraces blatantly non-art forms of popular culture with an almost emancipatory zeal, and the terriers are no exception. The choice of a Yorkshire terrier as a subject matter is a deliberate choice; they are dogs that are known for their independence but also for their devotion as a companion. Personified in animal form are Jeff and Cicciolina, side by side, a universal emblem of love and affection. Like his Pop Art precedents, Koons recognizes the expressive potential in the awkward symbiosis of art and popular culture.

Jeff and Ilona, Galerie Max Hetzler, Cologne, 1991

Yorkshire Terriers

Lot Essay

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