Balloon flower opens in SW1

A giant sculpture by American artist Jeff Koons is to go on display in London before being sold for an estimated £12million.

The work, in the shape of a pink, shiny balloon twisted into a flower, will be in St James's Square from 21 June until Christie's sale of post-War and contemporary art on 30 June.

At about three metres square, the sculpture, which was designed to be in the open air, is too big to get through the doors of the auction house.

Balloon Flower (Magenta), 1995-2000, is the most valuable and significant work by Koons to be sold in Europe. It is being sold by the Rachofsky Collection in Dallas.

Allan Schwartzman, the gallery's director, said the sale of the "cherished" work would enable the gallery to expand its collection "in ways that would otherwise be unachievable".

The work is one of a series, called Celebration, that Koons, 53, created over the course of a decade. He has often used flowers in his kitsch artwork.