In an era dominated by digital ephemerality, Jeff Koons reminds us that physical, tangible, monumental beauty still has the power to stop time. From November 13 through February 28, 2026, Gagosian’s gallery at 541 West 24th Street presents Porcelain Series, the first exhibition entirely dedicated to one of the American artist’s most ambitious and technically complex collections.

The Art of Reflection

The sculptures in the Porcelain series aren’t merely artworks – they’re philosophical mirrors. Created from mirror-polished stainless steel and coated with layers of transparent color, these monumental figures draw inspiration from eighteenth- to early twentieth-century porcelain figurines, reinterpreting characters from classical mythology such as Diana and Venus, animals, and lovers in timeless embrace.
But Koons’s true innovation lies in the process. Each sculpture is the result of months – sometimes years – of digital capture, mechanical engineering, CNC milling, laser plotting, painting, and polishing. The final result combines the physical resilience of steel with a reflective capacity that transforms the viewer into an active participant in the work.
“When you see yourself reflected in a Koons sculpture, you’re not simply observing an artwork,” explains a gallery spokesperson. “You’re becoming part of a millennia-old dialogue about beauty, identity, and human transcendence.”

Layered Painting, Deep Meaning

Alongside the sculptures, Koons presents oil paintings from the Porcelain series that demonstrate a pictorial technique of rare complexity. The first layer depicts naturalistic elements – an ocean wave, clouds, a forest. On top of this, Koons personally paints large, active, gestural brushstrokes. Subsequently, aluminum leafing is applied using a sizing technique, producing images of Renaissance and Counter-Reformation engravings.
The works incorporate engravings such as Agostino Carracci’s Satyr Whipping a Nymph (c. 1590-95) and Marcantonio Raimondi’s The Judgment of Paris (c. 1513-15, after Raphael). Finally, Koons adds additional dynamic gestures on top of everything, creating a material richness that mirrors the work’s sensual and conceptual depth.

From Porcelain to Steel: A Democratization of Beauty

“The Porcelain series is in dialogue with art from ancient times through history to this moment,” states Koons. “The belief in humanity and civilization through our possibility to transcend is embedded within these works.”
It’s this approach that has made Koons one of the most influential and commercially successful living artists of our time. His works have achieved record auction prices – in 2019, Rabbit (1986) sold for $91.1 million, setting the record for a work by a living artist.
But beyond commercial value, the Porcelain series represents a deeper reflection on the meaning of beauty in an age of mass production and digital virtuality. Koons takes objects historically associated with fragility and aristocratic exclusivity – porcelains – and transforms them into steel monuments visually accessible to anyone who walks through the gallery doors.

Democratic Luxury

This democratization of luxury has always been central to Koons’s practice. From his inflatable sculptures of the 1980s to his pop reinterpretations of classical masterpieces, the artist has consistently challenged traditional hierarchies of taste and cultural value.
The Gagosian Chelsea exhibition arrives at a particularly interesting moment for the contemporary art market. While galleries worldwide grapple with economic challenges and the rise of digital platforms, spaces like Gagosian continue to represent the apex of the physical gallery system – places where the experience of art remains irreplaceably corporeal and social.
The exhibition will be on view through February 28, 2026, offering visitors months to experience these works that, in the artist’s words, celebrate “the continuity of images as they move through time.”

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