lind spiritually moying. was my way ol‘ trying to communicate with him. so that when he‘s older he‘ll know how much I was thinking about him all the time.’
The seyen paintings to be shown in lidinburgh. Lips. Ila/r
Hit/1 ('lieese. .S'altdu'a'ltes. Niagara. Blue/inlay. .llatmlams and (imam. are packed with energy and wit. as well as the sexual undereurrents that Koons likes to layer into his work. So. in Lips. for instance. sugary pink lipstieked mouths lloat in an erotic dream: a drilling necklace is tnade not of pearls but kernels of canned com: a .laekson l’olloekesque serpentine swirl of orange juice is topped with a cloud-borne orange segment.
Koons says: ‘You can read a lot of meanings into the images I use. In Lips. you get relerenees to western art. particularly Man Ray and Leonardo l)a Vinci. although the background is actually .»\l'riean.‘
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Lips (far left) recalls Man Ray, Da Vinci and Africa; left, his 1994 stainless steel Red Balloon Dog
.lunk l‘ood -A l‘rosted ('heerios. ieed doughnuts. and sandwiches with oliyes l‘or eyes and Salyador l)ali tnottstaehes made ol' mustard - pours lrom eyery oriliee ol' the series. In Hair lli'I/i ('la'aw. boull‘ant hair t’lt may be pubie.‘ he says enigmatieally). a blue l‘rosted eyelid and a lush pink mouth drilt oyer a spring landscape of golden melting cheese like some sinister lireudian mirage.
'\\‘e haye to eotne to terms with l‘ood and the bodyf says Koons. ‘Some people enjoy eating. others just eat to liye while some liye to eat. I want to haye that dialogue about our relationship with l'ood in my work. It's also about coming to terms with our sexuality.
‘;\l'ter all. the lirst l'ood we eyer taste is mothers milk.‘
Jeff Koons: Easyfun-Ethereal, Fruitmarket, Edinburgh Sat 28 Jul-Wed 12 Sep.
1;
Rembrandt} lVomen
Merry women. sad women. old women and young women. Mothers. daughters, mistresses, maids. models and goddesses. Rem/Mandi} Women brings together key masterpieces from more than forty different collections for the lirst time in this exhibition.
Book ahead — beat the queue 'l‘ieket hotline: 0l31 473 2000
National (Iallery oi‘Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh
l'ntil I September l00| Admission 1'1). umu‘\sinns 1.350
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._ Lloyds 'l‘SB ' Scotland
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