On November 21, Qatar Museums will debut an exhibition of the artist Jeff Koons at the Doha Gallery AL RIWAQ as part of the Qatar-United States 2021 Year of Culture. Titled “Lost in America,” it is Koons’s first exhibition in the Gulf region (open through March 31, 2022), offering an expansive look at the artist’s practice and role as one of the most renowned contemporary artists of today.
“I am honored as an American artist to represent my country during the Year of Culture between Qatar and the United States. I have had amazing opportunities over the last two decades to visit Qatar, seeing its sites and cultural institutions and meeting some of its people,” said Koons. “For me, it’s a dream come true for this exhibition to be part of the cultural exchange between Qatar and the United States. I am very grateful to Qatar Museums for inviting me to participate.”
Jeff Koons, “Play-Doh,” 1994–2014, Private Collection, photo by Tom Powel Imaging, © Jeff Koons.
Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, visitors to the space located in MIA Park are invited to explore American culture through the lens of the artist’s autobiography. Featuring a selection of over 60 works spanning Koons’s 40-year career, the presentation has been set across 16 galleries, where autobiographical text accompanies some of the artist’s most iconic works. Through Koons’s personal memories and notes on his artistic influences, galleries will showcase an overarching self-portrait of the creator, which simultaneously imposes ideas of self-transformation and becoming through the many mirrored surfaces of the artist’s works.
Combining influences of pop culture, minimalism, are artworks like the famous Balloon Dog (1994—2000) and the 1986 Rabbit, along with pieces from series like his ongoing Celebration works, Popeye, which was created between 2002 and 2013, and the 1980s series The New.
Jeff Koons, “Gazing Ball (da Vinci Mona Lisa),” 2015; The Broad Art Foundation, photo by Tom Powel Imaging, © Jeff Koons, courtesy of Gagosian.
Jeff Koons, “Hulk (Friends),” 2004–2012, Collection of the artist, © Jeff Koons, photo by Marc Domage, courtesy of Almine Rech.
