Owned by Ukrainian philanthropist Victor Pinchuk and his wife, Olena, the money will go toward medical treatment for soldiers and civilians seriously injured in the war.
One of the famous and highly valued monumental sculptures by Jeff Koons, ‘Balloon Monkey (Magenta)’ has been auctioned at Christie’s in London for 10,136,500 pounds sterling (about €11.7 million ), an amount that will go to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The sale was made by the Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk and his wife, Olena and the funds obtained will be used to help soldiers and civilians who are seriously injured in the ukrainian war and that require prosthetics, medical treatment and rehabilitation.
Representing the innocence and joy of childhood for children and adults alike, ‘Balloon Monkey (Magenta)’ stands as a monumental symbol of hope and solidarity with those men, women and children living in war-torn Ukraine who have suffered terrible losses.
“As the war in Ukraine continues to spread devastation across the country, I could not be more honored to have worked with Victor and Olena Pinchuk in selling the influential Jeff Koons sculpture for a total of £10,136,500,” said Katharine Arnold. , Head of Postwar Contemporary Art at Christie’s Europe. “The largest work in the celebrated series of animal balloons stands out as a shining symbol of solidarity. The balloon animal reminds us of the ordinary course of life and its simple pleasures, which are absent from the lives of those at war.”
Jeff Koons began exploring with inflatables as early as 1979. His iconic stainless steel ‘Rabbit’, a direct ancestor of twisted balloon animals, appeared in 1986; the ‘Balloon Dog’ came as part of the series ‘Celebration’ on a large scale, beginning in the early 1990s, where he reinvented objects associated with milestones such as birthdays, Easter, and Valentine’s Day. Seven years of development (2006-2013) cost him ‘Balloon Monkey (Magenta)’: Koons’ sculptural practice reached extraordinary new heights of formal splendor, technical achievement and sheer, breathtaking impact. Completed on the eve of the artist’s career retrospective at New York’s Whitney Museum, his seductive form, monumental scale, and opulently colored, reflective surface capture the essence of his work. Koons continually investigates the iconography of childhood innocence to highlight the desires and joy that animate our relationship with art.
‘Balloon Monkey (Magenta)’ is one of the five unique versions from ‘Balloon Monkey’, each made in polished stainless steel with a colored coating: the others are red, blue, yellow and orange. ‘Balloon Monkey (Magenta)’ reaches the pinnacle of shimmering, weightless perfection. Stretching six meters from head to tail and nearly four meters tall, it towers like a sphinx or a totem pole an ephemeral toy transformed into a cult object .
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