Jeff Koons quotes

Jeff Koons is an American contemporary artist known for his large-scale sculptures and works inspired by pop culture. His pieces often feature everyday objects rendered in shiny, reflective materials, challenging perceptions of art and consumerism. He is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial figures in the modern art world. Here are 39 of his quotes:

I've always enjoyed feeling a connection to the avant-garde, such as Dada and surrealism and pop art. The only thing the artist can do is be honest with themselves and make the art they want to make. That's what I've always done. (Jeff Koons)
I try to be a truthful artist and I try to show a level of courage. I enjoy that. I'm a messenger. View quote
Jeff Koons
Art to me is a humanitarian act, and I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to affect mankind, to make the word a better place. View quote
Jeff Koons
Abstraction and luxury are the guard dogs of the upper class. The upper class wants people to have ambition and gumption because, if you do, you will participate and you'll move through society into a different class structure. View quote
Jeff Koons
I'm trying to go through moral crisis myself to the highest degree that I can, to remove moral crisis from the visual vocabulary of the viewer, so that when somebody sees my work, the only thing that they see is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. View quote
Jeff Koons
The media, the galleries, the collectors – it's all very chaotic actually. The artworld doesn't have this defined corporate structure that people imagine. Of course there's a system of sorts. This person will talk to that person and somebody else will pass it on to somebody else... you can trace a line of power of some kind. But its nothing like as clear and set as people think. And this chaos leads to a lot of insecurity. It's only after an artist has achieved some independence from it that he MODERN PAINTERS can really stand up to the collectors and the dealers and do his art. View quote
Jeff Koons
I think about my work every minute of the day. View quote
Jeff Koons
If I try to articulate every little detail in a drawing, it would be like missing the forest for the trees, so it's just about getting the outline of the forest. View quote
Jeff Koons
I believe that my art gets across the point that I'm in this morality theater trying to help the underdog, and I'm speaking socially here, showing concern and making psychological and philosophical statements for the underdog. View quote
Jeff Koons
I love the gallery, the arena of representation. It's a commercial world, and morality is based generally around economics, and that's taking place in the art gallery. View quote
Jeff Koons
The basic story line (in my new work) is about art leaving the realm of the artist, when the artist loses control of the work. It's defined basically by two ends. One would be Louis XIV - that if you put art in the hands of an aristocracy or monarch, art will become reflective of ego and decorative - and on the other end of the scale would be Bob Hope - that if you give art to the masses, art will become reflective of mass ego and also decorative. (Jeff Koons)
I'm basically the idea person. I'm not physically involved in the production. I don't have the neces-sary abilities, so I go to the top people, whether I'm working with my foundry - Tallix - or in physics. I'm always trying to maintain the integrity of the work. View quote
Jeff Koons
I like to look at everything and appreciate seeing the different things that have meaning to people. View quote
Jeff Koons
When people make judgments they close all the possibility around them. View quote
Jeff Koons
When I view the world, I don't think of my own work. I think of my hope that, through art, people can get a sense of the type of invisible fabric that holds us all together, that holds the world together. View quote
Jeff Koons
I don't believe that artists really are interested in money. That's not the motivation for art. View quote
Jeff Koons
For me, art really starts with acceptance, self trust. Wherever you come to with art, its perfect. You dont have to come with anything. What you bring to something is the art. Thats where its found. Its found within you. View quote
Jeff Koons
Every day I wake up and I really try to pinch myself to take advantage of today and to use that freedom of gesture to do what I really like to do. View quote
Jeff Koons
Art has this ability to allow you to connect back through history in the same way that biology does. I'm always looking for source material. View quote
Jeff Koons
Art was something I could do better. It gave me a sense of self. View quote
Jeff Koons
Art is about profundity. It's about connecting to everything that it means to be alive, but you have to act. (Jeff Koons)
My favorite activity is to be with my family. View quote
Jeff Koons
I produce a lot of my artwork in Germany. View quote
Jeff Koons
If I physically made every work myself, I would get only one or two paintings done a year, if that. View quote
Jeff Koons
A lot of my work is about sales. And it was about being independent from the art market. View quote
Jeff Koons