Jeff Koons: Popeye Series
02 Jul 2009 - 13 Sep 2009 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens
London
W2 3XA
(0)20 7402 6075
This summer, the Serpentine Gallery presents the first-ever major survey of Jeff Koons's work in a public space in England.
The exhibition centres round Koons' Popeye series. Started in 2002, the Popeye series includes surreal combinations of everyday objects, cartoon imagery, art-historical references and children's toys.
The iconic American cartoon figures of Popeye and Olive Oyl are central to Koons' new series. Appropriately, given the current economic climate, Popeye was conceived in 1929 during the Great Depression. In its early years, the Popeye cartoon addressed the hardships and injustices at the time. Koons' long-running interest in inflatables is also evident in the exhibition. Sculptures include inflatable swimming pool toys cast in aluminium and painted to resemble their original look.
Koons was born in Pennsylvania in 1955. Since the early 1980s, he has worked in themed series that explore concepts of consumerism, taste, banality and childhood. His manipulation of the everyday has become Koons' signature and he is known for meticulously constructed works that bring together objects and images from American and consumer culture.