1955
Jeff Koons is born in York, Pennsylvania.

1972 – 1973
He studies art and design at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

1975
Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago under Ed Paschke, Karl Wirsum and Jim Nutt.

1977
Move to New York and the commencement of his activity at the Museum of Modern Art.

1979
Koons works as a stock exchange broker on Wall Street in order to finance his art projects.

1980
First exhibition in the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York.

1985
The Equilibrium series is created and is presented in his first solo exhibition in the Meyer Vaisman’s East Village gallery International With Monument, New York.

1986
The two work groups Luxury and Degradation and Statuary are developed. Another exhibition in the Sonnabend Gallery in New York.

1987
One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank is exhibited at the Whitney Biennial in New York. At the invitation of Kasper König, Koons presents a stainless steel sculpture of Kiepenkerl on the historical marketplace of the city of Münster.

1988
The galleries Hetzler in Cologne, Ileana Sonnabend in New York and Donald Young in Chicago show Koons’ new group of works entitled Banality.

1989
Koons meets with Ilona Staller, artist’s name “La Cicciolina” and produces a photo series of her.

1990
At the Biennale in Venice, Koons exhibits works from the group of works entitled Made in Heaven.

1991
Ilona Staller and Jeff Koons marry and move to Munich.

1992
On the occasion of the Documenta, Koons presents the twelve metre-high flower sculpture Puppy in front of the Baroque castle in Arolsen. Koons moves back to New York and establishes his studio in New York.

1993
The first works of the Celebration Series are created. Ilona Staller and Jeff Koons separate.

1997
The Puppy flower sculpture is installed permanently in front of the Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao.

1999
Koons’ Easyfun group of works is shown for the first time in a solo exhibition of the Sonnabend Gallery in New York.

2000
Split-Rocker, another flower sculpture, is presented at the Palais des Papes in Avignon. Koons exhibits his Easyfun-Ethereal group of works for the first time in the Guggenheim in Berlin. Balloon Flower (Blue) is installed on the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The oversized flower sculpture Puppy is exhibited temporarily in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York.

2001
The Gagosian Gallery presents its first solo exhibition of Jeff Koons in Los Angeles. The artist relocates his studio to Chelsea. The Kunsthaus Bregenz dedicates a major solo exhibition to Koons.

2002
The Kunsthalle Bielefeld dedicates a retrospective to Koons. At the same time, the new group of works entitled Popeye is created. Koons is named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

2003
Retrospectives at C&M Arts in New York and in the Astrup Fearnley Museum for Modern Art in Oslo.

2005
The first painting for one of his largest groups of works, entitled Hulk Elvis, is produced.

2006
Balloon Flower (Red) is installed in front of the One World Trade Center. Exhibition in the Palazzo Grassi in Venice.

2007
Koons is named an Officer of the French Legion of Honour.

2008
Solo exhibition in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Koons installs his Celebration series on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. His works are simultaneously shown in the palace of Versailles. The Balloon Venus is created. It represents the start of his Antiquity series.

2009
Exhibition in the Serpentine Gallery in London.

2010
Koons designs the BMW Art Car. The artist is made an honorary member of the Royal Academy in London.

2012
Exhibition in the Schirn and in the Liebieghaus in Frankfurt, as well as in the Fondation Beyeler near Basel. Hillary Clinton awards the State Department’s Medal of Art to Koons.

2013
The new series Gazing Ball is presented in the Zwirner gallery in New York. Koons designs the cover for the CD ARTPOP by Lady Gaga. The Balloon Dog (Orange) is sold at Christie’s in New York for 58.4 million dollars, thus making Koons the most expensive living artist.

2014
The Whitney Museum in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris dedicate a retrospective to Koons. On this occasion, Play-Doh is shown for the first time in an exhibition. The Split-Rocker flower sculpture is installed in front of the Rockefeller Center.

2015
The Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao is the third station of the travelling retrospective. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, the Austrian Belvedere gallery in Vienna, as well as the Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, among others, also present further ambitious solo exhibitions of Koons.

2016
Koons is shown in the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires.

2017
Jeff Koons issues a limited bag collection together with the French fashion company Louis Vuitton. Seated Ballerina is exhibited temporarily in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York. The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles honours Koons for his creative and philanthropical achievements.