Jeff Koons will reunite with Gagosian for a solo presentation at this year’s edition of Frieze New York, less than four years after his closely watched departure from the gallery.
The booth will feature three sculptures from his Hulk Elvis series—Hulk (Organ) (2004–14), Hulk (Tubas) (2004–18), and Hulk (Dragon and Turtle) (2004–21)—staged against a custom vinyl backdrop derived from his 2007 painting Triple Hulk Elvis III.
All three works come from Koons’s personal collection. While the gallery declined to share pricing information—as is the norm for Gagosian—one can assume the booth, along with any sales, will be the talk of the fair. Koons, long known for orchestrating the details of his exhibitions with precision, supervised every aspect of the Frieze presentation, from selection to booth design, the gallery said.
Begun in 2004, the Hulk Elvis series fuses Cold War pop imagery and spiritual symbolism, reimagining the green rage monster as a hybrid protector and threat. The sculptures’ gleaming surfaces mimic inflatables but are rendered in bronze and mixed media. Two works—Hulk (Organ) and Hulk (Tubas)—are fully functional musical instruments, literalizing Koons’s talent for maximalist spectacle.
The reunion with Gagosian comes after a turbulent chapter. In 2021, Koons left both Gagosian and David Zwirner to join Pace Gallery exclusively, citing a desire for a “change in environment.” That switch lasted just there years. Behind the scenes, as Artnet News‘s Kenny Schachter reported last year, the split with Pace was less philosophical than financial. Pace had enlisted investors to pre-fund a new series of Meissen-inspired sculptures, sinking between $50 million and $100 million into the venture. When additional fabrication demands came up, the financiers balked—and so did Koons, walking away from Pace before the project could fully materialize.
Perhaps Koons’s next series will be called “The Prodigal Son.”
Even before the Pace saga, signs of strain had surfaced. Amid lawsuits, delayed commissions, and market softening, Koons has, of late, recieved a public reception that has swung between awe and eye-rolling. Still, Koons’s Rabbit (1986) remains the most expensive work sold at auction by a living artist, fetching $91.1 million in 2019.
Whether the Frieze presentation signals a substantive new phase—or simply the latest pivot in a career built on managing both acclaim and controversy—remains to be seen. For now, Gagosian appears willing to bet that Koons’s Hulk can still pack a punch.
Frieze New York runs from May 7-11 at The Shed.
