Jeff Koons: Easyfun-Ethereal

by Jeff Koons, David Sylvester

Pop master Jeff Koons offers up a glittery vision of a world distilled from media images and exploded onto canvas. The collage-like paintings in Koons's Easyfun-Ethereal series combine such bizarrely varied items as cold-cut sandwiches with smiley faces, women's manicured feet in fancy shoes, gooey pastries, and landscaped backdrops. Food and female sexual symbols figure prominently in this series of paintings, flying pieces of canned corn layered with floating red mouths and shiny eyelids. And while the erotic nature of food has a long history, e.g. tales of aphrodisiacs like oysters, there is something unnerving about the sexualization of Cheerios and melted American cheese. The book includes an essay by art critic Robert Rosenblum expounding on the references embedded in Koons's work. Rosenblum discusses pop imagery taken from childhood objects and art historical influences ranging from baroque and rococo to pop, abstract expressionism, and surrealism. An interview with Koons himself reveals some of his more personal relationships with his process and work. For Jeff Koons fans this is a must-have. --J.P. Cohen

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Jeffrey Lynn Koons is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: US$58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013 and US$91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.
Critics come sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch, crass, and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings or critiques in his works.