St. John the Baptist

Date1988

Label TextJeff Koons' work from the 1980s is noteworthy for its embrace of the non sequitur. His choices of subjects-whether puppies or the Pink Panther-often seem completely random and irrational, but he also takes advantage of lowbrow styles and materials that propel his art to the brink of kitsch. Such is the case with this work, where the Christian icon is rendered as an overblown dime store trinket.

Object number2007.121

Provenance[Sonnabend Gallery, New York]; [Gagosian Gallery, New York]; Virginia and Bagley Wright, Seattle, 1990; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2007

Photo CreditPhoto: Jim Strong

Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Jeff Koons, Dec. 10, 1992 - Feb. 7, 1993 (Minneapolis, Minnesota, Walker Arts Center, July 10 - Oct. 3, 1993). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection of Modern Art, Mar. 4 - May 5, 1999. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pop Departures, Oct. 9, 2014 - Jan. 11, 2015. Text by Catharina Manchanda, et al. No cat. no., pp. 21, 101, reproduced p. 18. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, City of Tomorrow: Jinny Wright and the Art That Shaped a New Seattle, Oct. 23, 2020 - Jan. 18, 2021. Published ReferencesKoons, Jeff. The Jeff Koons Handbook. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, illus. p. 107 Koons, Jeff. Jeff Koons. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1992, illus. pl. 46 Stiles, Kristine and Peter Selz, trans., Therories and Documents of Contemporary Art. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1996, p. 380 Fairbrother, Trevor. The Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection. Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, illus. p. 185 Doss, Erica. Twentieth Century American Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, illus. p. 214

Credit LineGift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions56 1/2 x 30 x 24 1/2 in. (143.5 x 76.2 x 62.2 cm)

MediumPorcelain