World’s most expensive artist, who is exhibiting at the Alhambra in Granada, sees his work as embedded in biology. His hands-off approach to the production of his famous balloon dogs and stainless steel rabbits has been criticised in the past but Jeff Koons, the world’s most expensive artist, has drawn a red-line: “I wouldn’t – for my own base work – be looking at AI to be developing my work.”.
![[Daniel Boffey]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Daniel-Boffey,-L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The potential and the risks of artificial intelligence is perhaps the hottest topic in the artistic world, with deep-learning models now able to replicate styles and produce unique compositions on request. It would appear to be a heaven-sent development for Koons, who was speaking to the Guardian at the launch of Reflections, a joint exhibition of his works alongside those of Pablo Picasso at the Alhambra in Granada. Koons’s reliance on teams of craftspeople and cutting-edge technology in the making of his pieces prompted the Collector magazine last year to ask: “Is Jeff Koons an actual artist?”.
![[Jeff Koons’s Gazing Ball (David Intervention of the Sabine Women) juxtaposed with Picasso’s Head With Helmet in Grenada]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c4b47c3b6c8a598152de152f3e4576a3549fc165/0_908_4000_5000/master/4000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Exploiting technological advances is what he does. Five years ago, the American’s highly mirror-polished stainless steel Rabbit, made by intensive machine-work to imitate the look and material of a balloon, sold for a record $91m (£72.5m). His previous bestseller, the 10ft-tall steel Balloon Dog, sold for $58m in 2013. A SpaceX rocket took 125 of his miniature lunar sculptures out of the Earth’s orbit in February, to become the first authorised artworks on the moon.
![[Jeff Koons with Gazing Ball (Standing Woman)]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/40ec527743506eb2c2709ecbaf539244ddc1ead8/0_0_3872_2323/master/3872.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
For his Gazing Ball series, in which masterpieces were reproduced but with the addition of a large, blue glass bauble on a shelf, he commissioned 350 of the balls before choosing the best 35. He is also an innovator. “There are certain projects I’m thinking about,” he disclosed. “I have a wonderful dialogue with people that are involved in the core of the development of AI.”.
![[Jeff Koons’s Three Graces at the Alhambra]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b4e97bd587426879919cdfa50e688395babd2f1d/0_119_2858_3572/master/2858.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
