Encased - Four Rows 1983 - 1993

Curator: Here we have Jeff Koons' "Encased - Four Rows" currently residing in the Tate Collections. We don't have a confirmed date, but it presents twenty basketballs, each neatly boxed and displayed within a large glass vitrine. Editor: My first thought? It looks like a trophy case after the apocalypse. There’s something so sterile yet poignant about preserving these symbols of play, trapped and untouchable. Curator: Koons is known for appropriating everyday objects, elevating them to art status, and engaging with themes of consumerism and celebrity. Encasing these basketballs freezes them in time, commenting on their cultural significance. Editor: Right, they're like relics of a game we no longer play, or perhaps a commentary on how we idolize sports figures and then...box them up. Makes you think about what we choose to preserve and why. Curator: Absolutely. The work invites us to consider the relationship between art, commodity, and the museum itself as a kind of mausoleum for objects. Editor: It leaves me feeling…contemplative, if slightly melancholic. Makes you wonder what our own carefully curated displays might say about us. Curator: A powerful reflection on our consumer culture and the act of preservation. Editor: Definitely gives you something to chew on, even if you don't usually spend your time pondering the deep symbolism of basketballs.