Jeff Koons admits reproducing work of Ukrainian artist for his sculpture in New York

"We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup’s work and have a license to use it for Mr Koons’s work," said his spokeswoman, The Telegraph reports.

The statement was made after the scandal broke out in social networks regarding the very great similarity of the new Koons’s sculpture with the porcelain figurine by well-known Ukrainian sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup, who was born in 1931 and worked for the Kyiv Experimental Art Ceramics Factory. The original publicity material for the piece said the work was inspired by a porcelain figure "found at a Russian factory at the turn of the 20th century".

The 14-meter-tall Seated Ballerina inflatable sculpture was installed at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Jeff Koons, 62, is known for his kitsch, large-scale reproductions of everyday items, including a series reproducing inflatable animals.

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