Gagosian will once again represent Jeff Koons, the star sculptor who left the mega-gallery to join Pace’s roster in 2021.
Wednesday’s announcement completes a return that began in May with a solo presentation held by Gagosian at the Frieze New York fair. At Frieze, Koons presented three sculptures from his “Hulk Elvis” series. All three of the works came from the artist’s personal collection.
In 2021, when Koons left Gagosian, he was also represented by David Zwirner, which he appears not to have rejoined this time. At the time, he cited a desire for a “change in environment.”
The switch appears to have been short-lived. Artnet News‘s Kenny Schachter reported last year that Koons split with Pace after a new series of Meissen-inspired sculptures proved too costly for the gallery to support. Schachter reported that Pace enlisted investors for the venture, sinking between $50 million and $100 million into it. But when additional funds were needed to finish fabrication, the investors balked. Koons walked away from Pace soon after, Schachter said.
Koons’s critical star has faded in recent years, and his market stardom has also waned. Though his sculpture Rabbit (1986) remains the most expensive work sold at auction by a living artist, fetching $91.1 million in 2019, his sales have fallen in the past few years. But Artnet News reported in 2024 that certain powerful collectors and dealers were working to help change that.
Gagosian staged 13 solo exhibitions of work by Koons over two decades of representation at its locations in Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong, and New York. Though the gallery did not announce its next Koons exhibition in a press release, with 20 locations around the world, it’s safe to assume one will be coming soon.