As a modern artist, Jeff Koons has made a name for himself both visually and financially. He's best known for his skilled reproduction of common objects on a grand scale--like balloon animal sculptures made out of metal--and for breaking the record for the largest auction sale of a work produced by a living artist.

Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955. His earliest influences in art were the works of Salvador Dali and the mentorship of fellow artist Ed Paschke. After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Maryland Institute College of Art, Koons gained recognition as part of a new generation of artists in the 1980s. Inspired by Andy Warhol's Factory, Koons set up his own studio in New York, where he began to produce his series of iconic statues with the help of 30 studio assistants. Since then, Koons has produced numerous sculpture series like Celebration and Banality, been exhibited around the world, and received commissions for artwork from celebrities like Lady Gaga and companies like BMW.

When it comes to describing the style of Jeff Koons, it's not readily apparent. After setting up his first studio, he created a color-by-numbers system that made it easy for his assistants to reproduce his art. He also has a penchant for recreating popular images, from balloon dogs to tulips to realistic paintings of Popeye. Some critics see his work as little more than kitsch, trying to attract attention through cheap merchandising. Koons himself has claimed that there is no underlying theme or message in his art, but rather he says he creates art to "remove my own anxiety" and build "confidence, or trust, that people have to delve into."

Since he's known for creating his work in a series, Koons is probably best known for his Celebration series, which he began in 1994. These brightly-colored metallic sculptures consist of countless objects that are easy to recognize: balloon dogs, Easter eggs, Valentine hearts, tulips, and diamonds. In addition, the series includes 16 oil paintings, although these have earned far less recognition than his larger-than-life sculptures. His balloon dogs are the most visible at his exhibitions, born out of a desire to recreate Koons's memory of childhood excitement in a material form.

On November 12, 2013, Jeff Koons broke his previous record for an auction sale of his Tulips sculpture for $33.7 million. At a Christie's auction in New York, his sculpture Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold for $58.4 million, making it the largest auction sale for a living artist in history. The Orange piece was one of the first balloon dog sculptures to be created in the Celebration series. This represents a major achievement for Koons and will likely continue to fuel his success and prestige in the future.

You can see exhibitions of Jeff Koons's sculptures at museums like the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the Guggenheim Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain.

Image by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra on Flickr