Kitsch as an art form - Jeff Koons in Bilbao

Jeff Koons at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: the American artist is disputed among art critics, but the audience clearly loves him.

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Welcome to Bilbao

Jeff Koons has a knack for combining art and commerce. The American artist is taken seriously as a contemporary artist, and his works fetch top prices at international art auctions. The Guggenheim Museum in the Spanish city of Bilbao, renowned for its crowd-pleasing exhibitions, presents a Koons retrospective that runs until September 27, 2015.

Grand scale

The oversize sculpture of a dog stood guard in front of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao once before, in the 1990s. The 12 meter-high "Puppy" is carpeted with flowering plants - and, back then, was a huge hit with tourists. Jeff Koons created the imposing figure as a surprise coup for the 1992 Documenta exhibition - to which he had not been invited.

Hot air

Over time, Koons' works grew in proportion and became ever more spectacular. Prices skyrocketed too. Collectors include Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk and French billionaire entrepreneur Francois Pinault, who holds a majority share in Christie's auction house. Koons' "Balloon Dog" sold at a 2013 auction there for a record $58.4 million.

Mundane icons

Critics argue whether everything Jeff Koons' production lines create should be taken seriously as art. "Ushering in Banality" is what the artist once wryly called one of his works. Koons says he always wants to reach a mass audience. He certainly is successful at that: in China, his trendy sculptures are among the most-copied works of art.

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