What happens when a fiberglass bust of Louis XIV, a plaster cast of Bob Hope, and an inflatable rabbit are treated as equals?
In this rare first-person walkthrough, Jeff Koons reflects on Louis XIV (1986), one of the defining works from his celebrated Statuary series. Moving between monarchy and mass culture, stainless steel and celestial reflection, Koons explains how the sculpture became a meditation on acceptance — the idea that everything in the world already possesses its own perfection and meaning.
From Canal Street discoveries to the seductive surface of polished steel, Koons reveals how Louis XIV embodies some of the central ideas that have shaped his practice for decades: ego, decoration, reflection, and the transformative power of the ready-made.
Jeff Koons’ Louis XIV will be presented as part of Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart, a standalone single-owner auction during Sotheby’s Spring Marquee Sales in New York City on 14 May.
