Even though the esthetics of sculptures by Jeff Koons are often close to the brink of kitsch, the artist is still regarded one of the most influential contemporary object artist. His heart-shaped objects in candy-colored plexiglass, stainless steel, inflatable rubber or ceramics, the oversized pieces of jewelry or comic figures by Jeff Koons are more than kitschy eye-catchers. They are critical effigies of a repleted consumer society. His sculptures and photographs from the early 1990s were not less controversial, for instance the series that showed Jeff Koons in explicit poses with his then wife, the pornographic actress Ilona Staller, called Cicciolina.
The socio-critical and anti-consumption artworks by Jeff Koons ae in possession of the most renowned international collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which is clear proof of the artist's importance for contemporary art.