Become a child again and feel amazement in front of the shining works of Jeff Koons.

It's not every day you see the monkey or balloon dog that you used to do at birthday parties as a child, in a giant and shiny version. So big that you have to look up, as if for a huge sculpture. Actually, yes, it is precisely shiny sculptures, such as Balloon Monkey or Balloon Dog to open the exhibition "Shine" by Jeff Koons, hosted at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence until last January 30th

I had the chance to go there and I will take you with me.

Palazzo Strozzi - Florence

It is precisely the giant monkey of Jeff Koons that with its 6 meters in length and 5 tons of weight, occupies the Renaissance courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi and kicks off the exhibition.

.The nice thing about this work is that it has also turned into a public work of art as being at the entrance, you can see it as many times as you want, taking a walk, or going to enjoy a coffee at the museum bar without necessarily buying the entrance ticket.

Balloon Monkey - Jeff Koons

After making the ticket, as you enter, here she is, sitting with all her composure and grace, the "Seated Ballerina" and the "Sacred Heart" golden magenta color.

Both early works are extremely lucid, bright and reflective but above all shiny, as are the other works that will follow.

In fact, Koons, from the second half of the 70s to today, is famous for using materials with these characteristics in particular the shine , the glow, the reflection and the light emitted by an object.

It is well known that shiny and sparkling things fascinate the eye and capture attention. A plaque in the room, however, explains how the word Shine in English derives from the German Schein with the same meaning but with the added meaning of "appearance", but the appearance is different from reality and "to seem" is not "to be", in fact it is said, "it is not what it seems".

"Seated Ballerina" and "Sacred Heart" - Jeff Koons

In 1986, Koons produced his first stainless steel works for the Luxury and Degradation series and to show that as much as appearances can deceive, he uses alcohol as a metaphor. The artist in fact realizes his Jim Beam - J.B. Turner Train, a train formed by 7 stainless steel carriages containing bourbon.The train is shiny and sparkling and generally the surfaces of luxury stuff and decorative objects are often reflective, but the steel used is an industrial material and not a traditional precious metal such as bronze or silver, just as bourbon is a normal alcoholic that can be purchased in any liquor store.

Jim Beam - J.B. Turner Train e Baccarat Crystal Set - Jeff Koons

For me, stainless steel is the material of the proletarian, it is what pots and pans are made of... these objects do not aspire to be in a truly luxurious material. The works communicate power and avoid degradation. - Jeff Koons-

The same year Koons began working on the next series, Statuary where he created ten sculptures with different styles to define his personal "panoramic view of the society" in which we live. The works are different from each other but the material used gives uniformity, erasing the gap between the classic tall statues and decorative objects.

Luiigi-XIV e Mermaid Troll - Jeff Koons

The fundamental point of this vision was represented with one of his most famous and iconic works of the twentieth century, the Rabbit. This work is really special as it contains and shows at the same time absolute contradictions being childish but hyper-sexual, animated but lifeless, harmless but threatening, tangible but immaterial, inviting but impassive.

Rabbit - Jeff Koons

... and then comes him, Balloons Dog, in mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent red paint, and sparkling like the rest of the works. This little dog of over three meters deceives and gives you the impression of being light, even fragile, that it can burst at any moment if some guest of the exhibition takes us against us; but it is neither light nor fragile, and reflects everything that passes on its sinuous forms. Always for the concept of appearance. To make it Koons turned to a specialized foundry because he wanted to faithfully reproduce the tight twists and curves of a balloon inflated by a clown at a party. Incredible is the contrast between the exterior so smooth and smoothed perfectly and the empty interior.

Koons is famous for his maniacal precision when his sculptures are involved. Even if he does not realize them physically, he follows them at all times, in addition to designing them, and the production process is very expensive, highly sought after and not at all simple.

Ballon Dog - Jeff Koons

Koons also later continues to use common material and popular images to create his other works, such as "Elephant", which also gives the idea of being an inflated balloon but instead is made of mirror-polished steel with bright colors to capture the reflections of the environment that surrounds him.

Elephant - Jeff Koons

Loving shine and reflections so much, what could be better than a mirror? A tool present in the daily life of anyone, which has become indispensable, never lies, reflecting the surrounding environment and oneself in real time. Koons began to work with mirrors, placing objects such as sponges, inflatable games around various mirrors.According to Koons, the viewer feels more involved and participating in the works because he can see himself reflected with the objects, although depending on the light and how the person moves, in a certain sense the work also changes constantly.

In one of the last rooms, we find several statues reminiscent of the classic ones, and various canvases of paintings, all with a common element, a Gazing Ball, which gives its name to the series, or a highly reflective blue sphere.

The gazing ball reflects the here and now, reflects you, the spectator. So it affirms your presence while also mirroring the works of art, and somehow this allows you to travel through time. - Jeff Koons

It is awesome to see the difference between the colored canvases with many shades, specially chosen by Koons and at the same time the white sculptures without color apart from the blue of the spheres.

Gazing Ball serie - Jeff Koons

Also in the last room, there are other sculptures that follow the style and the common thread of the exhibition, recalling objects or characters made of balloons inflated by a clown.

I was very impressed by the last red statue Balloon Venus Lespugue, which reminded me of The Venus of Willendorf, in all its softness and abundance but in a balloon version. I admired and photographed it from every angle as much as it fascinated me, with its shapes and its shine.

It's truly mind-blowing how Jeff Koons has been able to recreate certain details so meticulously with a material like steel.

Balloon Venus Lespugue (Red) - Jeff Koons

I found the exhibition very immersive and evocative

The paradox behind it, apparently light and delicate shapes made instead with heavy materials processed in order to make them super reflective distort the nature of the objects themselves.

I felt amazement, almost not being able to believe how those sculptures could be so big and heavy. I felt joy because with those bright and sparkling colors found in almost childish objects such as balloons in a giant version, I found myself a child, enchanted to look at these imposing sculptures, to play and to take pictures reflected in them.

Even if this exhibition is over, Palazzo Strozzi currently has no exhibitions but from 19 March to 31 July 2022 there will be an exhibition dedicated to Donatello - The Renaissance and from 22 September 2022 the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi will present a solo exhibition dedicated to the famous international artist Olafur Eliasson who is famous for an art that reflects on the idea of perception and in which the viewer is at the centre of the experience as an active protagonist. I love this kind of exhibition, I feel totally involved in it and I think it could be a new opportunity for Il Mio Salotto to visit Florence again. For upcoming exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi, please visit: https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/en/upcoming-exhibitions/