Jeff Koons On Art, Life and Generosity

Jeff Koons dialoguing with Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar about art, life and generosity.

- Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar

Jeff Koons, one of the most successful artists in the world, a 'Rock Star' of the contemporary art. He is a former Wall Street commodities trader who left the financial world to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, He is one of the most influential artists with fans like Lady Gaga. His art is unique and has featured balloon dogs, lobsters, Pink swans and even cracked eggs. Koons' stainless steel sculpture, Balloon Dog (Orange), was sold at an auction for $58.4m, turning him into the most expensive living artist of all time. Jeff Koons talks to Art Market Magazine to discuss his work, his future and about generosity.

It is Friday afternoon in New York, Friday evening in Kiryat Tivon. I can hear the owls hooting outside and the jackals howling in the nearby valley, making the dogs go crazy with their barks. Out of my window, the guava tree seems a center stage for the bats. Across continents, a meeting takes place and I am very excited to be speaking to Jeff Koons, one of the most influential artists living today. As we deepen our conversation, I find myself inspired by his clarity of vision and grounded curiosity. Jeff generously shares his beliefs and memories, horizon and motivation, and Art Market magazine and I are delighted to share this interview with you now.

Asaf: Hello Jeff, Thank you for the interview. So, after all these years of creating - are you still hungry? 

Jeff: Yes, I am still very hungry. What I’ve always enjoyed about art is that it gives me an opportunity to become, it lets everybody become. That‘s the beautiful thing, to continue to increase your parameters as an individual, and at the same time then to share that with the community around you. More than ever, I want to continue to exercise the freedom as a human being to reach the highest state of enlightenment possible, to exercise that freedom.