^{© Jeff Koons
JEFF KOONS Hulk (Whellbarrow), 2004-2013 Polychromed bronze, mixed media and live flowering plants 
68 x 48 x 84 inches, (172.7 x 121.9 x 213.4 cm) Edition 3/3 + 1 AP KOONS 2004.0006
GAGOSIAN GALLERY}

With sources as diverse as children’s art, comic book characters, and figures from classical antiquity, Jeff Koons draws a common thread through cultural history with works that attempt to touch the core of the human psyche.  Next month, the Gagosian Gallery showcases works from the artist’s ongoing series Hulk Elvis.

The series ranges from paintings to precision-cut bronze sculptures, inspired by an inflatable of the popular comic book hero. The sculptures, whose polychrome surfaces mimic the gloss of vinyl inflatables, pair the Hulk superhero with incongruous props, ranging from a wheelbarrow filled with live flowers, a crew of inflatable toy animals, and a precise replica of the Liberty Bell. Comparatively, his large-scale paintings dazzle with energy yet mystify with complex permutations and combinations of figurative and abstract elements.

For Koons, the character represents Western comic book culture but also Eastern guardian gods stating, “Hulk Elvis represents for me, both Western and Eastern culture, a sense of guardian, a protector, that at the same time is capable of bringing the house down.”

Jeff Koons: Hulk Elvis
Date: November 6 to December 20, 2014
Time: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00am to 7:00pm
Venue: Gagosian Gallery, 7/F Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Central