From now till September, London’s Serpentine Gallery presents the first solo Jeff Koons show in the UK.  Koons’ work combines pop art and surrealist conventions to explore consumerism, sexuality, banality, and maybe childhood (well, people say it explores childhood, but I think that’s too superficial a reference – maybe “exhuberence and impulsiveness” would work better).

This show features works from Koons’ Popeye series, featuring inflatable toys cast in aluminum, readymade objects, and photo collages.  Seeing images of the pieces adds another level to the surrealism: it’s sometimes hard to tell apart photos of the sculptures from images of the sculptures used within photo collages.

Tags: Jeff Koons, London, pop art, surrealism, The Serpentine Gallery