2000 Words: Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons explores how everyday items become works of art by reflecting our desires. Crafting a vast aesthetic grammar from a language of kitsch, athleticism, and antiquity, his work elevates symbols of pop culture and consumer goods into a realm of timeless self-realization. Methodologically, Koons has created a prophecy fueled by the ecstasy of materialism, where the image or object becomes its own ouroboros—consuming itself.

Part of the 2000 Words series conceived by Massimiliano Gioni and published by DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, this monograph contains an essay by Gioni with Natalie Bell examining Koons’ parallels to Duchamp and the function of readymades over the course of his career.