In 1985, Jeff Koons debuted his iconic "One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank" as part of his Equilibrium series.
This iconic and playful sculpture was the result of collaborating with a physicist in order to have an American basketball float perfectly in a tank. Like a metaphor for the fragility of life the "equilibrium" could only be maintained for a number of months, before intervention was required to get the ball back to its ideal position.
Koons established his reputation in the mid-1980s with slick and subversive sculptures that were clear descendants of both Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp. In the Equilibrium works, Koons explored how basketball was like a sub-genre of the American dream. He appropriated Nike advertisements and included images of NBA players in his work.
Like the best of Koons' work, there was a fascinating intersection between consumerism and high art, between precious and banal. Sports rarely make memorable appearances in the visual arts, often veering on sentimentality or kitsch. Koons was able to use basketball as a vehicle to explore some of his favorite themes (childhood, ambition, inflatables, and universal appeal) while simultaneously creating an icon within his oeuvre.
In 2000 Koons created a series of prints that celebrated the first ten years or so of his sculptures. Over the course of his career, Koons has created a very small number of prints or multiples. This affordable work by one of the most valuable artists of our day is a celebration of one of his best and most important early works.
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Signed, numbered, and dated "Koons '95"
Lithograph, from an edition of 50
42.5"H 31"W (work)
Framed with plexiglass (minor wear)
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