Jeff Koons's 14-Meter Seated Ballerina to Land at Rockefeller Center

A monumental 14-meter stainless steel sculpture by Jeff Koons, titled Seated Ballerina, will be installed in the plaza in front of Rockefeller Center in New York. The work depicts a ballerina sitting on a stool, tying her ballet shoes. Koons described the piece as a contemporary representation of femininity, comparing it to the Venus of Willendorf and other ancient Venuses. The sculpture is supported by the Art Production Fund (APF), a nonprofit that commissions ambitious public art. This marks Koons's third APF-backed installation at Rockefeller Plaza, following Split-Rocker (2014) and Puppy (2000). The Seated Ballerina previously appeared in two other versions: a 45-cm polychrome wood edition of 50, and a unique 2-meter-tall stainless steel piece first shown in 2016 at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, later acquired by founder Eduardo Costantini and installed at Oceana Bal Harbour in Miami. The new 14-meter version stands on a 2-meter base, bringing the total height to approximately 16 meters. The work is made of mirror-polished stainless steel, a material Koons has used in iconic pieces like Balloon Dog (sold for $58.4 million in 2013) and the gold-colored Pluto and Proserpina exhibited in Florence in 2016.