Kitsch is one of those ingredients of which a little goes a long way; to a level, it can be clever and even thought-provoking, but when used with gay abandon, tends to drown any sense or meaning beyond the superficial. It’s this razor sharp tightrope that American artist Jeff Koons has balanced on for the duration of his extraordinary career.
To the stainless steel blow-up toys of ‘Statuary’, the hulking ceramic of ‘Michael Jackson and Bubbles’, the surreal voyeurism of ‘Made in Heaven’ and unsettling topiary of ‘Puppy’, can now be added his latest projects, two simultaneous exhibitions ‘Hulk Elvis’ and 'Popeye', showing at London’s Gagosian galleries.
'Hulk Elvis represents for me both Western and Eastern culture, a sense of a guardian and a protector, that at the same time is capable of bringing the house down,' explains Koons, when quizzed on his new work. Naturally there’s little subtlety about ‘Hulk Elvis’. The paintings are vast (think 2.5m x 3.5m), combining figurative and abstract elements. Realistic renderings of landscapes jostle for space under negative silhouettes and vivid injections of colour. Elsewhere, dot screens form the background behind etched effect steam trains, horse drawn carriages and an inflatable cartoon monkey head.
The series is arresting, seemingly chaotic on first glance, but the more one becomes aware of the varying pictorial depths of each canvas, and the familiarity of each component - characteristically clever, typically larger than life - the more one is drawn in.
The same can certainly be said of 'Popeye', a series of giant sculptures. Koons makes no attempt to disguise the stainless steel material of the gigantic toy sculptures, for 'Popeye' each has been painted to replicate the effect of blown-up plastic, juxtaposed with a slightly disturbing element. So a paddling pool in the shape of a spotted dog has a missing panel that reveals a pair of knickers stretched round a woman's legs; a multicoloured caterpillar is wrapped in chains. The effect is to distend everyday objects, attaching them with a timeless significance beyond their mundane visual appeal.
INFORMATION
The exhibitions run until 27th July
- Website
- http://www.gagosian.com
- Telephone
- 44.20 7481 9960
44.20 7493 3020 - Address
- 'Hulk Elvis'
6-24 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JD
'Popeye'
17-19 Davies Street
London W1K 3DE
