BALLOON DOG (BLUE) by Jeff Koons

Limited edition of 799.

Balloon Dog (Blue) by Jeff Koons, from the highly acclaimed Celebration series, is one of the most iconic works of the 20th century. In 1994, Jeff Koons embarked on the Celebration series, which is based on special events from the calendar year (birthdays, weddings, holidays…), which the artist isolates from their normal context and expands in order to create contemporary archetypes.

The porcelain edition references the ten-foot tall stainless steel sculpture, Balloon Dog (1994-2000), which recreates a balloon, twisted into the shape of a dog, in painstaking detail on a monumental scale. The inflatable balloon evokes childhood memories and innocent playfulness; Koons takes an object that represents the fleeting pleasures of life and renders it permanent. Along with the innocence and simplicity of childhood, Koons’s work conveys a deeper symbolic meaning, as the artist explains, “It’s a very optimistic piece, it’s like a balloon that a clown would twist for you at a birthday party; but at the same time, it’s also a Trojan horse, the work has an interior life. It ties us to the present moment while at the same time to our ancient past. The exterior is totally reflective. It always reflects its environment, affirming the viewer. When you move the abstraction happens; nothing happens without you; it’s all about you. When you leave the room, the art leaves the room with you.”For nearly 160 years, Bernardaud has worked with the most skilled artisans at their workshop in Limoges and has created new technologies to achieve the porcelain limited editions made in collaboration with Jeff Koons. No detail was compromised in rendering Balloon Dog in porcelain. Bernardaud was challenged by the reflective surface, finessing the glaze techniques, and refining the process to create as smooth a finish as possible in porcelain.

Copyright : Jeff Koons