This quilt series by Luke Haynes serves as a conceptual response to the work of Jeff Koons—particularly his iconic balloon animal sculptures and the broader questions they raise about authorship, value, and production in the art world. Koons is known for mass-producing works that are often accepted as high art despite being created through industrial, impersonal processes. In contrast, Haynes' quilts foreground labor, material, and process—each one meticulously constructed by hand over the course of hundreds of hours.

The series invites viewers to consider: How much does process matter in art-making? What is the value of a work crafted directly by the artist versus one produced at a remove? And what happens when handmade quilts—historically associated with domestic craft—depict referential forms like balloon animals in the visual language of contemporary sculpture? Can they be considered fine art too?

To create this body of work, Haynes hired a balloon artist to craft original balloon animal forms, which were then photographed and rendered in fabric using his signature textile techniques. The result is a playful yet pointed exploration of authorship, materiality, and what society deems worthy of artistic recognition.