12 igafencu.com
S
ince bursting upon the art scene back in the ’80s, American
artist Jeff Koons has been no stranger to controversy.
Indeed, his ostentatious artworks have long been decried and
celebrated in equal measure. All the controversy surrounding his
sundry creations has, of course, only driven up their value. A clear
case in point is his Balloon Dog (Orange) – a stainless steel sculpture
of a toy balloon dog – which sold for US$58.4 million in 2013, the
then-record for any auctioned artwork produced by a living artist.
Now, that record has been shattered and by yet another of
Koons’ animal-inspired creations – a 41-inch stainless steel sculpture
simply known as Rabbit. Completed in 1986, this cartoonish figure is
widely regarded as one of the most iconic examples of 20th-century
art, hailed as being exuberant and celebratory by his admirers, while
dismissed as vacuous and disposable by his many detractors.
Regardless of its artistic value, none can deny its monetary
worth, with this best-in-show bunny snagging US$91.1 million at a
recent Christie’s auction, surpassing the US$90.2 million record set
last November by David Hockney and reaffirming Koons’ reputation
as a genius cash-generating creative talent.Record Rabbit Receipts at Auction
Money
Bunny