American pop artist Jeff Koons, whose taste for the outrageous led him to marry Cicciolina, the Italian porn-queen-turned-politico, is throwing in the towel on their marriage after less than nine months.

"The differences between our cultural and social standings are too great," Koons, 36, said in a statement released by his New York office.

The statement didn't say where or when he would file for divorce.

Koons married Cicciolina, whose real name is Ilona Staller, on June 1 in her native Hungary.

Cicciolina, 39, made headlines last year when she offered to have sex with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in return for peace in the Persian Gulf region.