Jeff Koons accused of copying Ukrainian artist's work

American artist Jeff Koons has been forced to acknowledge reproducing the work of a Ukrainian artist for a 45-foot-tall inflatable sculpture on display at New York's Rockefeller Centre. 

The original publicity material for the piece, Seated Ballerina, said the work was inspired by a porcelain figure "found at a Russian factory at the turn of the 20th century".

But observers soon noticed that the inflatable sculpture bore a striking resemblance to a piece by well-known Ukrainian sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup, who was born in 1931 and worked for the Kiev Experimental Art Ceramics Factory.

After he was approached for comment on the similarities by Artdependence magazine, a spokeswoman for Mr Koon's studio acknowledged that the artist knew about the origin of the work.

"We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup’s work and have a license to use it for Mr Koons’s work," said the spokeswoman. 

Mr Koons, 62, is known for his kitsch, large-scale reproductions of everyday items, including a series reproducing inflatable animals.