Private Guided Tour of the exhibition titled Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue

The Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens is pleased to present Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue, marking the first public display of Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange) (2013-2019) by Jeff Koons.

Exploring the significance of the Venus figure from the Paleolithic period to the present day, the work will be shown from 20 March to 31 August 2026, at the Museum’s Stathatos Mansion alongside a series of ten certified copies of Venus figurines from the Upper Paleolithic era, asking how the universal archetype of fertility has transcended across time and place.
Koons’ Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange) draws inspiration from the prehistoric Venus of Lespugue, a mammoth tusk ivory figurine that dates back approximately 28,000 years. Jeff Koons has been influenced by this figure since the late 1970s. In his series Antiquity, which he started in 2008, the artist’s interpretation of the Venus of Lespugue engages a variety of art historical reference points, from Botticelli and Titian to Duchamp and Brancusi, where the notions of beauty and form play a central role. Through an intensive, yearslong process, Koons has transposed the fetishized original, renowned for its exaggerated curves, into a towering balloon sculpture of Giacometti-esque proportions.