MOCA director Philippe Vergne w/ Jeff Koons’ limited edition Balloon Dog plates, on display … and on sale … here tonight for $9,000 a piece. “It’s a bargain!” #mocagala2017

A post shared by Deborah Vankin (@deborahvankin) on Apr 29, 2017 at 6:49pm PDT

The LA MoCA gala was held over the weekend and the LA Times gave it the live blog treatment. Here are some of the better quotes and an an Instagram post reminding us that Koons’s Balloon Dog plate fundraiser for LA MoCA remains not only one of the most successful fundraising projects in history. Issued in editions of 2300, the plates mimic the five large Balloon Dogs in Koons’s signature colors. With more 11,500 works priced at $9,000—and above on the secondary market—the body of work is among the world’s few nine-figure art works. No wonder Philippe Vergne calls it a bargain:

• “Marcel Duchamp has Philadelphia, that’s where they have their most condensed collection of his work. I have Los Angeles,” Koons said as the crowd erupted in applause.
• Uber driver said he’d never been to MOCA before, but he knew Koons. He’d seen the artist’s work at another downtown L.A. museum. “I like his Michael Jackson thing at the Broad,” he said of Koons’ sculpture there.
• Jennifer Tilly (“Family Guy,” Oscar-nominated for “Bullets Over Broadway”) said she collects Koons’ work, including three Balloon Dog plates in pink, yellow and orange. She stores them in her Las Vegas apartment, which “seems very appropriate,” she said. “He’s shiny and sparkly and big. You never know what to expect from him. I love his work.”

Hollywood and art world stars turn out to honor Jeff Koons at MOCA (and to dance to John Legend)  (LA Times)