Scott Rothkopf and Rachel Kushner on Jeff Koons: A Retrospective

On the occasion of Jeff Koons: A Retrospective, curator Scott Rothkopf talks about the making of the artist’s first comprehensive survey with writer and catalogue contributor Rachel Kushner. Their conversation considers Koons’s complex relationship with art history and contemporary art and his current cultural relevance. If Jeff Koons is one of the most influential, popular, and controversial artists living today, how does this exhibition measure his impact? A contributor to the exhibition’s catalogue, Rachel Kushner is the author of two novels, Telex from Cuba and The Flamethrowers, both Finalists for the National Book Award. Her fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Believer, Artforum, Bookforum, Fence, Bomb, and Grand Street. Scott Rothkopf is Nancy and Steve Crown Family Curator and Associate Director of Programs at the Whitney.