Jeff Koons’s Bouquet of Tulips to be installed in Paris after two years of debate

Jeff Koons, Bouquet of Tulips, 2016, 3d illustration. Source: Jeff Koons/Noirmontartproduction/Artnet

Christophe Girard, Paris’s deputy mayor for culture, said Jeff Koons’s sculpture Bouquet of Tulips would be erected outside the Petit Palais near the Champs Élysées. The monument dedicated to victims of the 2015 terrorist attacks on the Bataclan theatre and the Charlie Hebdo office sparked debate over its price, design and location. The final decision was announced on the radio, Artnet writes.

Koons’s 10-metre sculpture became a subject of discussion in June 2016. The artist wanted to donate it to the city, but the state was supposed to pay $3.9 million for the production and installation. Residents and cultural workers protested against the proposed location in central Paris near the Palais de Tokyo and the Museum of Modern Art, far from the sites of the attacks. The artist’s suggestion was called “cynical” and “opportunistic”.

Koons, for his part, said the monument was “a symbol of remembrance, optimism and healing in moving forward from the horrific events in Paris one year ago”. Representatives of some art organisations expressed their support for the artist.

The sculpture is a gesture of French-American friendship and a “reaffirmation of our connection, our friendship, with the American people”, Artforum quotes Girard as saying on the radio. He noted that the new location was chosen near the US embassy. The monument will be unveiled near the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts in the first half of 2019.