Jeff Koons - Is it a new record?
ARTinvestment.RU   30 мая 2008

The work of Jeff Koons «Flower - balloon» appears in the June auction Christie

For many years the «Flower - balloon» (Magenta), Jeff Koons sculpture, decorated with modern art collection of Howard and Cindy Rachovski in Dallas. Floating in the pond construction steel has been one of the main centers of attraction, a huge private estate, occupying 3 acres of land, where there is also a house built by Richard Mayer.

But now the family Rachovski decided to sell the landmark work of Koons at auction Christie's in London on 30 June. According to experts, the price of «Flower» could reach bids of $ 23.5 million (the current owners paid for it all to $ 1.1 million seven years ago). The fact that other work Koons from the same series ( «Holiday») - «Dog - balloon» now exposed on the roof of the New York museum «Metro», significantly increases the price of the work from the collection Rachovski.

Art Consultant Family Rachovski Alan Schwartzman said that funds from the sale of the sculpture of Jeff Koons will be directed towards the purchase of works of postwar and contemporary art.

However, sales of «Flower» Koons could be considered a serious loss to the museum in Dallas, because in 2005 the wife Rachovski bequeathed his collection, along with future acquisitions and the house built Mayer, the museum. But Mr. Schwarzman assured that, by agreement between the museum and Rachovski, they have the right during his life to change the composition of the collection. In addition, the director of the museum in Dallas, John R. Lane stressed that the June sales could be a broadening and enriching the collection Rachovski, which will benefit the museum.

Collectors Rachovski has exhibited the work of Jeff Koons at auction. In 2001, they sold the «Women in the bathtub» at Christie's for 2.8 million dollars, and then proceeds to become «Flower» of the same artist and a collection of works of Piero Mantsoni, Luciano Fabry and Alighieri Voetti (the direction of Italian Arte Povera -- from Italy . «poor art »).

In November of this year at New York auction houses aukionnyh Jeff Koons has set another record price, becoming the most expensive of living artists (up to the last record Lyutsiana Freud). His installation «hanging heart» (Magenta /Gold), was sold for 23.5 million U.S. at Sotheby's, and the «Blue Diamond» for U.S. $ 11.8 million at Christie's.

Jeff Koons created a total of five «Tsvetkov - balloons» in the series «Festival», each of which is made in different colors. Flower color may be blue at the headquarters of DaimlerChrysler in Berlin, has a yellow magnate Francois Pinault (the owner of Christie's), red - from the artist (in 2006 it can be seen in the fountain at the World Trade Center, New York), while the fifth - orange - is in private collections in France.

To get to the auction work from the collection Rachovski, the auction house signed a deal with them, which was the fee received by collectors, regardless of the outcome of the tenders. Experts estimate the market for contemporary art, this amounted to some $ 25 million

Although the auction house did not report the names of buyers Koons at the November auction, there is a perception that it could be Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk (at the invitation of the artist who came to Kiev).

Actually Koons as well as other contemporary Western artists, is of great interest of collectors from the former Soviet Union, it is not surprising that the auction houses have included it in the June auction, which will be held in London, which became their permanent residence.

Source: www.nytimes . com