Jeff Koons and the Venus Lespugue exhibition in Athens
Published on 08/31/2026 at 12:47 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Jeff Koons closes a major chapter in Athens today as his exhibition Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue reaches its last day at the Museum of Cycladic Art. As Koons’s official exhibition overview confirms, the show runs from March 19, 2025 to August 31, 2026 at the museum in Athens. Jeff Koons exhibition list
The exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art
The exhibition Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue unfolds at the Museum of Cycladic Art, bringing Koons’s towering stainless-steel Balloon Venus Lespugue into direct dialogue with Paleolithic “Venus” figures from the collection. The artist’s site presents the show as a current solo exhibition in Athens with the precise dates March 19, 2025 to August 31, 2026. Jeff Koons exhibition list
Independent coverage describes the sculpture as a monumental, brightly polished work that commands the Stathatos Mansion space and sets up a dialogue between prehistoric icons of fertility and Koons’s language of Pop-inflected desire and consumption. One exhibition text characterizes Balloon Venus Lespugue as “towering” and central to the curatorial concept. Athens exhibition description
Monday’s exhibition & show focus
For Athens, Koons’s project anchors the museum’s temporary program around guided tours and talks specifically dedicated to Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue, which the museum highlights on its homepage. The Museum of Cycladic Art offers guided tours and special guided talks tied to the exhibition, framing it as a key event in its calendar. Museum of Cycladic Art information
The show also extends into the museum’s merchandising and publishing activities, with a bilingual catalog, posters, and apparel referencing Balloon Venus Lespugue. This indicates how deeply the institution integrates Koons’s work into its public-facing identity and educational offer over the exhibition’s long run. Museum of Cycladic Art information
All news and background on Jeff Koons
Readers who follow Jeff Koons’s exhibitions and market developments can find further English and German news reports and background coverage in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core around Venus figures
Koons’s Balloon Venus Lespugue belongs to his long engagement with historical archetypes and decorative forms, translated into mirror-polished stainless steel and high-chroma surfaces. The work draws on the Lespugue Venus, a Paleolithic figurine whose voluptuous proportions become abstracted into Koons’s balloon-like volumes. Exhibition materials in Athens emphasize this dialogue between prehistoric sculpture and contemporary fabrication. Athens exhibition description
Where the artist stands now
Jeff Koons’s exhibition Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue concludes on August 31, 2026 at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, marking the final day of its extended solo run within the institution’s temporary program.
Jeff Koons at a glance
- Artist: Jeff Koons
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and installation (Pop-informed conceptual art)
- Born: 1955, York, Pennsylvania, USA
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice primarily in New York City
- Active since: Late 1970s, with early exhibitions in the 1980s
- Key work groups: Balloon Venus, Celebration, Banality, Gazing Ball
- Current/last exhibition: Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece, March 19, 2025 – August 31, 2026
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Guggenheim Museum (New York), Tate (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Whitney Museum of American Art (New York)
- Awards: BACA International Award (1996), Wolf Prize in Arts (2017)
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Jeff Koons
Where is Jeff Koons currently on view?
Jeff Koons is on view in Athens with the exhibition Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue at the Museum of Cycladic Art, which runs from March 19, 2025 to August 31, 2026 and closes today.
What is the central work in the Venus Lespugue exhibition?
The central work is the large-scale stainless-steel sculpture Balloon Venus Lespugue, which establishes a dialogue between Paleolithic Venus figurines and Koons’s contemporary Pop vocabulary within the museum’s exhibition spaces.
How does the Museum of Cycladic Art frame Jeff Koons’s exhibition?
The Museum of Cycladic Art supports the exhibition with guided tours, guided talks and a bilingual catalog devoted to Jeff Koons: ‘Venus’ Lespugue, integrating Koons’s project into its educational and public programs.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
