World Art Utopia

King Kong Balls — Denis Defrancesco, Prague

A huge blue bronze ape reclines on its back on a paved square with one leg crossed over its knee and polished golden testicles, in front of trees and buildings in Prague
Artwork FilePrague, Czechia

King Kong Balls

SeenNov 2019

Denis Defrancesco · bronze, blue patina and polished parts, 2019 · shown on Náměstí Miloše Formana, Prague, Czechia, in 2019

Photo: as published on Street Art Utopia (When Sculptures Come Alive (8 Photos vol. 4), 28 October 2026; also shown in Street Art Meets Humor: Denis Defrancesco’s King Kong Statue). Artwork: Denis Defrancesco.

A reclining blue bronze ape with polished privates lounged on Náměstí Miloše Formana, in front of Prague’s InterContinental hotel, from July 2019. French artist Denis Defrancesco made this five-metre version for the Sculpture Line festival, after a two-metre original in black patina shown at the Venice Biennale. Expats.cz reported in November 2020 that it had since been moved to the Smíchov site of the Manifesto market. Source Source Source Source Checked

Seen Nov 2019. Evidence date: 19 November 2019, the camera date of a photo by art_inthecity (Flickr, on Wikimedia Commons) at its 2019 site. It has since left the square: Expats.cz placed it at Manifesto Smíchov in November 2020, and English Wikipedia says it moved to Beroun, but the only source cited in that paragraph is Street Art Utopia. We found no dated photo of either later site. Source Source Source Reported

More photos

A close oblique view of the blue King Kong Balls sculpture in Prague, showing the ape’s face, shoulder and hand resting on its raised knee.
2019 A closer view of the face and handPhoto: art_inthecity / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. Bigger for the streetPro kulturu wrote that the original King Kong Balls, two metres tall in black patina, was first shown at the Venice Biennale, and a new five-metre version was made for Sculpture Line 2019. Source Source Checked
  2. 2.78 tonnes of bronzeThe artist lists the XXL version at H 210 × L 504 × D 225 cm and 2,780 kg, in blue-patinated bronze with a mirror-polished part. Source Checked
  3. An edition of sixThe XXL version is an edition of six; the artist’s site advertises a showing at Marks Park, Bondi Beach, from 18 October to 4 November 2024, without saying which cast. Source Reported
  4. Moved onExpats.cz wrote in November 2020 that it had moved to the Manifesto market in Smíchov; English Wikipedia says Beroun, but the only source cited in that paragraph is Street Art Utopia. Source Source Unconfirmed

📍 Where it is

Shown in 2019 on Náměstí Miloše Formana (Miloš Forman Square), by the InterContinental hotel, Prague; reported in November 2020 at the Manifesto market in Smíchov Source Source Source Reported

Open in Maps

Map pin from the Sculpture Line page (50.091068, 14.418597): the 2019 site. Where the sculpture stands now is not confirmed, so the button opens a plain map of that square.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 201925 Jul

    Mzone: installed by the InterContinental

  2. 201926 Jul

    Pro kulturu: a Sculpture Line stop

  3. 201919 Nov

    Photographed by art_inthecity on Miloš Forman Square

  4. 202024 Nov

    Expats.cz: moved to Manifesto, Smíchov

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Mzone25 July 2019

Před pražským hotelem InterContinental vyrostla provokativní socha King Kong Balls

„V rámci festivalu Sculpture Line nainstaloval na Náměstí Miloše Formana v Praze svou bronzovou sochu modrého opičáka francouzský umělec Denis Defrancesco.”

“As part of the Sculpture Line festival, French artist Denis Defrancesco installed his bronze sculpture of a blue ape on Miloš Forman Square in Prague.”

Read the source →

Pro kulturu26 July 2019

Provokativní socha King Kong Balls před hotelem InterContinental jako další zastávka festivalu Sculpture Line

„Původní verze King Kong Balls (2 metry) v černé patině byla představena světu na Biennale v Benátkách.”

“The original version of King Kong Balls (2 metres) in black patina was presented to the world at the Venice Biennale.”

Read the source →

Expats.cz24 November 2020

Prague uncovered: 15 modern sculptures that help make Prague a 21st century city

“It has since been moved to the Smíchov location of the Manifesto market …”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Artist
Denis Defrancesco (French, born 28 June 1954) Source Source Source Checked
Title
King Kong Balls Source Source Source Checked
Year
2019 (the XXL version) Source Source Checked
Materials
Bronze, blue patina, mirror-polished part Source Checked
Size
H 210 × L 504 × D 225 cm; 2,780 kg Source Checked
Edition
Edition of six Source Checked
Earlier version
Two metres tall, black patina, first shown at the Venice Biennale Source Source Checked
2019 site
Náměstí Miloše Formana, by the InterContinental hotel, for Sculpture Line 2019 Source Source Source Source Checked
Later site
Reported at the Manifesto market in Smíchov by Expats.cz in November 2020; English Wikipedia says Beroun, but the only source cited in that paragraph is Street Art Utopia. No dated photo shows it at either place Source Source Unconfirmed
Bondi showing
An edition at Marks Park, Bondi Beach, 18 October–4 November 2024, according to the artist’s site; which cast is not stated Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: as published on Street Art Utopia (When Sculptures Come Alive (8 Photos vol. 4), 28 October 2026; also shown in Street Art Meets Humor: Denis Defrancesco’s King Kong Statue). Artwork: Denis Defrancesco.

Last checked: 28 October 2026 · How we verify art