The “Masters” collection is a collaboration between Louis Vuitton and artist Jeff Koons who remixed the iconic artworks of the old masters such as Leonardo, Titian, Rubens, Fragonard and Van Gogh, presenting them in a way that encourages new interpretations (just watch the video on the official website of Louis Vuitton or to cry sacrilege because some works of art that deserve absolute respect or to smile with irony because the Art is made to think and, anyway, this is the version of Koons).
Of course this isn't the first time that we see bags with printed mastepieces, but it's the first time for the debunking Jeff Koons on which it wrote anything and everything. If for the uninitiated he remains Cicciolina's ex-husband, which he portrayed in sculptures bordering on the pornographic, in the world of art he is considered a true genius and his works reach dizzying prices: a very important detail 'cause we are talking about an artist still alive ...
Inflatable flowers, balloon animals, cartoon characters and mirrored surfaces quickly established themselves as recurring elements in his 40-year career.
A blow-up toy rabbit, which appeared in one of his earliest pieces, has become a signature motif, and has been immortalised as the 40-inch stainless steel sculpture Rabbit (1986), his most famous work that everybosy knows...
According to Jeff Koons “Art is something that lets us become more aware of our life, our potential, and what we can become”.
That's why his work is often entertaining and accessible, with the intention to appeal to a mass audience beyond the art gallery. Koons is known for engaging specialised craftspeople to realise his flawlessly executed works to a level of technical perfection he requires. He remains a controversial figure: although his work has been both dismissed and exalted by critics who regard it as kitsch, the artist himself maintains that it is a celebration of what it is to be human. Just like a Louis Vuitton bag, for example, another must of the modern age and, actually, more than a bag...
