jeff koons’ floral ‘split-rocker’ to bloom anew at LACMA’s upcoming los angeles building

jeff koons’s 37-foot-tall piece to bloom year-round in los angeles

Later in 2025, Jeff Koons’ Split-Rocker, an 11-meter-tall sculpture covered in over 50,000 living plants, is set to be permanently installed outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The towering artwork takes its playful shape from precise horticultural design and has been donated to the museum by longtime patrons Lynda and Stewart Resnick. It will become the focal point of a new outdoor public art program connected to LACMA’s forthcoming David Geffen Galleries, designed by Peter Zumthor, set to open in 2026 (find designboom’s previous coverage here).

Designed with an internal irrigation system and planted with drought-tolerant flowers suited to Southern California, the Split-Rocker changes appearance as the plants grow and bloom. Its form merges the head of a child’s rocking horse and the head of a dinosaur toy, joined into one oversized and slightly mismatched structure. The result is a surreal hybrid that appears both cartoonish and contemplative, qualities that often describe Koons’ work.

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, edition of 1 plus 1 AP, © Jeff Koons, Versailles installation photo by Laurent Lecat | via Unframed Lacma

lacma to debut zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries

Positioned at the threshold of the reimagined campus of LACMA, the American artist’s sculpture signals the transformation taking place within and around the new building. As the summer of 2025 unfolds, LACMA begins activating the plaza level of its new building north of Wilshire Boulevard, giving the public its first look at Peter Zumthor’s long-awaited David Geffen Galleries. The shaded ground-level spaces beneath the elevated structure are designed to host a variety of public programs and serve as an extension of the museum’s civic presence, hosting outdoor education, events, and performances. New facilities also include the East West Bank Commons, a covered area for gatherings of up to 500 people, the W.M. Keck Education Center for learning and community engagement, and the state-of-the-art Steve Tisch Theater, which will screen films and exhibit time-based media during museum hours.

At the same time, LACMA is expanding its outdoor art footprint across 3.5 acres of newly designed public space. Koons’ monumental Split-Rocker will be among the first major works to activate the reimagined grounds, setting the tone for the evolving outdoor collection of the institution. The entire plaza on the north side of Wilshire is set to become a site-specific installation by Mariana Castillo Deball, while a monumental textile work by Los Angeles–based artist Sarah Rosalena will occupy one of the new interior spaces of the museum. Additional sculptures and interventions by Liz Glynn, Thomas Houseago, Shio Kusaka, Pedro Reyes, and Diana Thater will gradually populate the campus. Several iconic works from LACMA’s collection will return, including Tony Smith’s Smoke, Alexander Calder’s Three Quintains (Hello Girls), and the Rodin collection, which will be housed in the redesigned Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Garden. Previews of the building begin in June 2025, followed by a phased art installation leading up to the museum’s full reopening in April 2026.

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, edition of 1 plus 1 AP, © Jeff Koons, Versailles installation photo by Laurent Lecat | via Unframed Lacma

Split-Rocker finds a new home

This particular version of Split-Rocker is the artist’s proof from an edition of one, and its arrival continues LACMA’s long-standing collaboration with Koons. The artist’s stainless steel works, including Rabbit, Balloon Dog (Blue), and Cracked Egg (Red), have been shown at the museum in past exhibitions. In 2008, a miniature version of Cracked Egg was even used as the official invitation to the museum’s BCAM opening gala.

‘Jeff is a master of bringing bold playfulness together with layers of deeper artistic meaning,’ shares Michael Govan, LACMA’s CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. ‘We are thrilled to welcome this living sculpture to LACMA, where it will greet visitors, pedestrians, and traffic along Wilshire Boulevard.’ The museum expects the work to be a year-round presence, a rare condition for one of Koons’s monumental floral sculptures, which are often temporary due to climate restrictions.

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker (2000) installed at Rockefeller Center, NYC, 2014, © Jeff Koons, photo by Tom Powel

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker (2000) installed at Rockefeller Center, NYC, 2014, © Jeff Koons, photo by Tom Powel

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker (2000) installed at Rockefeller Center, NYC, 2014, © Jeff Koons, photo by Tom Powel

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, Palais Des Papes, Avignon, France | image courtesy the artist

image by Mattias Mangold, courtesy Fondation Beyeler, Basel

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, edition of 1 plus 1 AP, © Jeff Koons, Versailles installation photo by Laurent Lecat | image courtesy of the artist

LACMA building, including David Geffen Galleries | image © Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/the Boundary

Zumthor’s design unifies LACMA’s campus | image © Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/the Boundary

project info:

name: Split-Rocker

artist: Jeff Koons | @jeffkoons

location: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California | @lacma

architect (LACMA’s Geffen Galleries): Peter Zumthor

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