Jeff Koons, Lobster, 2003, Polychromed aluminum, steel and vinyl, 97 x 18-7/8 x 37 inches. © Jeff Koons

LONDON.- Gagosian Gallery presents an exhibition of selected sculptures from Jeff Koons's Popeye series. The Popeye sculptures have obvious precedents in Koons's seminal sculptures of the eighties - the cast metal readymade inflatables (Lifeboat, Aqualung, 1985) and Rabbit (1986) from the Statuary series, where breath, forever trapped in metal, formed one the central themes of the artist's oeuvre. However, Koons's early preoccupation with abstract concepts such as eternity and paradox has reached new heights in these cast aluminum sculptures painted to simulate the brightly hued, inflatable children's pool toys from which they were derived. Unlike the earlier metal casts where the material (bronze, stainless steel) was plainly evident, these objects defy reason, their weight and rigidity obscured by the dissembling paintwork that perfectly replicates the quality of supple plastic. Unexpected visual juxtapositions - a playpool in the shape of a spotted dog with a panel displaying a pair of panties stretched tightly around a woman's legs; a hanging chain of monkeys with a chair; a multicolored caterpillar with chains - attest to Koons's uncanny ability to make everyday objects step outside of time into the suspended state of art. Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=20411