Jeff Koons (b. January 21, 1955) is a contemporary American artist who made a name for himself as an innovative sculptor of skillfully crafted objects, which quickly became icons of art history. He rose to prominence in the art scene in 1980 with a style that was an amalgamation of several prevailing styles — pop, conceptual and craft — to create his own distinct manner of expression. He is best known for his unconventional works with popular culture subjects such as sex, race, gender and fame and his reproductions of banal objects-such as balloon animals cast in stainless steel with mirror like surfaces.Some of his notable works are “Michael Jackson and Bubbles” (1988), the “Made in Heaven” (1990-91) series and “Puppy” (1992). His “Balloon Dog” (Orange) sold for a record $58.4 million at Christie’s New York in 2013. Christie’s featured his artwork “Play-Doh” at its Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York on May 17, 2018.Here is a performance analysis of Jeff Koons’s artworks in the auction market:1. Sales Trend in the Past 20 Years Koons’s artworks had a record year in 2014, with total sales of $168.2 million for 118 lots. The number of works sold at auction in 2014 was nearly double the 61 lots sold in 2013, when sales reached $85.2 million By 2015, despite selling 145 works, the most over a 20-year period, sales lost their momentum and reached $57.5 million. Since then, the number of works sold each year has declined as has the annual total sales. The following graph illustrates the artist’s year-on-year performance in total sales and number of works sold.2. Volume of Artworks on Offer vs. Bought-in RateA trend of artworks offered at auction and the bought-in rate can be observed in the graph below.It is interesting to note that the bought-in rate corresponded with the increase in the volume of artworks on offer during 2015 to 2017. A sharp increase in the bought-in rate to 40 percent in 2017 shows that most of the artist’s auction lots were unsold. 3. Bought-ins by Auction HousesWhile Christie’s is where three of Koons’s artworks achieved their highest prices, in 2016 and 2017, the highest bought-in rates were at Christie’s. In 2017, the bought-in rate was 38.1 percent at Christie’s, compared with 10.5 percent at Sotheby’s and 6.25 percent at Phillips. An overall trend of volume of artworks on offer, and the bought-in rates at the top three auction houses are shown below.4. Average and Median Sale Price Trend in the Past 10 YearsIn the past 10 years, the average price of Koons’s artworks surpassed $1.4 million in 2014, 2008 and 2007. The lowest average price was in 2017 at $200,330, compared with 2008, when the average reached $1.46 million. The most dramatic drop in the average price occurred between 2014 and 2017.But since 2013, the median sale price for a Koons remained steady in a range of $10,000 to $16,000.5. Highest-Priced ArtworksKoons’s top three artworks in terms of price were sold at Christie’s New York.The highest-priced work was “Balloon Dog (Orange),” which sold for $58.4 million in 2013. The work, a mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating, is signed and dated ‘Jeff Koons 1994-2000’ (on the underside). The second-highest artwork was “Jim Beam - J.B. Turner Train,” in stainless steel and bourbon, at $33.8 million in 2014. “Tulips,” mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating, painted in 2004, came in third at $33.7 million in 2012.6. Price Band in Which His Works Have Sold in the Past 20 YearsMost of his artworks have either sold for less than $5,000, or between $10,000 to $50,000. Still, the number of artworks that sold over $1 million was a significant 11.7. Where His Works Have Sold the Most in the Past 20 YearsMost of his highest-priced works have sold at Christie’s, accounting for 63.5 percent of total sales with 216 lots, followed Sotheby’s, which accounted for 27.1 percent of sales on 195. Phillips and the other auction houses have together contributed 9.4 percent of total sales with higher sale volume of 616 lots.Based on the geographical location of sales of his works, the United States leads with $641.1 million, followed by the United Kingdom at $118.2 million and France, Germany and Italy, with a combined $2.9 million.8. How Often Have His Works Exceeded the Auction Houses’ High Estimates?The downward slope in Christie’s results indicates that since 2013, Koons’s artworks had a tendency to not exceed the auction house’s estimates. Christie’s demonstrates a downward sloping curve from 2013 onward, when it comes to measuring percentage times the artist’s works have exceeded the auction high estimates. It is interesting to see how this chart’s pattern is reflected in the chart showing the pattern of bought-ins of Jeff Koons artworks at Christie’s. Meanwhile, the tendency of Koons’s artworks to surpass the high estimates at Sotheby’s and Phillips is on an upward trend since 2016.http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder Louise Blouin
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