This print by famed contemporary artist Jeff Koons, while at first appearing to depict a boat sailing into the sun, also represents a woman spreading her legs to reveal her genitals. Reflecting Koons' frequent art historical references, this work also highlights the artist’s singular ability to elevate simple objects and subject matter to the level of high art.

Neo-Pop artist Jeff Koons (American, b.1955) inspires conflicted reactions to his over-sized sculptures of banal—and sometimes shocking—objects; some consider his work art historically significant, others view him as an attention-seeker who panders to the high art world. Educated at the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Maryland, he was initially supported by his career on Wall Street. By the early 1980s, Koons was able to found a studio staffed by assistants.

He quickly cultivated a media persona by hiring image consultants and placing strategic advertisements in high class art publications; his scandalous marriage to and subsequent divorce from the Hungarian-Italian pornstar Ciccolina also brought much public attention. Most famous for enlarged objects such as “Puppy” and his huge sculptures of inflated balloons, Koons also works in series of paintings, prints, and collage, stating he attempts “to make a body of work that anybody could enjoy.” Over the course of his career, Koons has received numerous awards including the John Singleton Copley Award (2010), the Wollaston Award from the Royal Academy of London (2008), and the Artistic Achievement Award from Americans for the Arts (2006), among others.

Selected Public Collections:
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Tate Gallery, London, UK
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam, NL