Topline
Jeff Koons—who holds the record for highest auction price for a work by a living artist—hopes to take his pop art sculptures to even greater heights later this year when he launches a series of physical artworks into space, part of his first foray into non-fungible tokens.
Key Facts
The series, “Jeff Koons: Moon Phase,” are physical sculptures that will be carried to the Moon’s surface aboard a Nova-C Lunar Lander designed by private space company Intuitive Machines, according to the Pace Gallery, which represents Koons.
Koons’ sculptures will be the first authorized artworks to be placed on the Moon and will “remain there in perpetuity,” said Jack Fischer, Intuitive Machines vice president and a former NASA astronaut, in a statement.
The sculptures will be transported to Oceanus Procellarum, the moon’s largest “lunar maria,” or lunar plain, and will be stored in a transparent mini-satellite, according to Pace.
The location of the landing will be marked as a Lunar Landing Heritage Site, according to Pace, alongside other historic sites on the moon such as where Apollo 11 landed.
Each sculpture will have a unique digital NFT, which will be available on Pace Verso, the gallery’s NFT platform.
What To Watch For
What Koons’ work will look like. Designs for the NFTs and physical works have not been released, but according to Pace will be unveiled “in the weeks to come,” along with more information about the series’ artistic and technical processes and updates about the project’s charitable partners.
Big Number
$91.1 million. That’s the auction price record for Koons’ work, set in 2019 with his sculpture “Rabbit,” made of stainless steel and resembling a child’s toy. The record-breaking piece was purchased during a Christie’s auction by art dealer Robert E. Mnuchin, the father of Steven Mnuchin, who served as Treasury secretary under President Donald Trump, according to the New York Times. It’s the highest price ever reached an auction by a living artist.
Key Background
Koons previously signaled interest in NFTs last year after he left Gagosian and David Zwirner, his longtime representatives, to work exclusively with Pace worldwide in a rare move. In September, Koons told a crowd in Munich he was working on an NFT collection that would be released “within a year’s time,” according to The Art Newspaper. NFTs exploded in popularity last year and reached a head when digital artist Beeple sold an NFT for $69.3 million, placing him among the most expensive living artists alongside Koons and painter David Hockney.
Contra
Not all artists are jumping aboard the NFT craze. Last year, Hockney described NFTs as “silly little things'” and called the people who create and buy them “crooks and swindlers.”
Further Reading
Ukraine Launches NFT Sale To Fund Fight Against Russia (Forbes)
Yves Klein’s ‘Invisible’ Art—A 1959 Precursor To NFTs—Could Sell For $550,000 Next Month (Forbes)
