Cicciolina recounts Jeff Koons and their 'Made in Heaven' series in Rome interview

In a 2013 event at Studio Legale in Rome, former porn star Ilona Staller, known as Cicciolina, sat for an interview with art dealer Francesco Cascino to discuss her artistic and romantic partnership with Jeff Koons. The conversation centered on Koons's 'Made in Heaven' series (late 1980s), which featured the couple in explicit yet playful paintings, photographs, and sculptures. Staller described the work as a mix of transgression and naivety, while Koons has characterized it as innocent and about accepting one's body. The couple married in 1991, had a son named Ludwig, and separated in 1994 amid legal disputes over finances and custody. Staller, then 60, appeared with her signature platinum blonde bangs and no wrinkles, sharing nostalgic and uninhibited memories for 30 minutes. The interview was part of a broader discussion on art and sex as a social provocation to challenge bourgeois taboos in American and European society.