Sacramento Is Now Home to a Permanent Jeff Koons Sculpture

Artist Jeff Koons—whose sculpture Balloon Dog sold for $58.4 million in late 2013, setting a world record for highest price paid for a living artist’s work—has debuted a new statue in Sacramento, ARTnews reports.

Koons officially unveiled the permanent installation on Monday, September 26. It’s a special edition of the artist's Coloring Book sculpture—an 18-foot work created from a mirror and polished stainless steel, covered in a light wash of color. It was commissioned for a plaza outside the Golden 1 Center, a brand-new indoor multipurpose venue in downtown Sacramento. (The Center will host an open house October 1, and will serve as home arena for the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team.)

So far, Koons has created five versions of Coloring Book, which was inspired by the character of Piglet from Winnie the Pooh. They've been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, among other venues. Sacramento’s Coloring Book is uniquely colored, and it's also the first in the series to be installed in a public area, Sactown Magazine reports.

It's also a testament to Sacramento’s commitment toward investing in public art. But that doesn't mean everyone loves the statue, CBS Sacramento says. Some people have criticized its steep price ($8 million), and others say that the city should have commissioned a local artist instead of an international one.

[h/t ARTnews]

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