Puppy Vase

Jeff Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1955. He studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1976. Koons lives and works in New York City.

Since his first solo exhibition in 1980, Koons’s sculptures, prints and other works have been shown in major galleries and institutions throughout the world. His work was the subject of a major exhibition organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, "Jeff Koons: A Retrospective" (June 27 – October 19, 2014), which traveled to the Centre Pompidou Paris (November 26, 2014 – April 27, 2015) and the Guggenheim Bilbao (June 9 – September 27, 2015).

Other exhibitions include “Appearance Stripped Bare: Desire and Object in the Work of Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koons, Even”; “Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean”; and “Jeff Koons. Shine” at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy. “Jeff Koons: Lost in America” was on view at QM Gallery ALRIWAQ in Doha, Qatar from November 21, 2021 through March 31, 2022.

Koons is widely known for his iconic sculptures Rabbit and Balloon Dog as well as the monumental floral sculpture Puppy (1992), shown at Rockefeller Center and permanently installed at the Guggenheim Bilbao. Another floral sculpture, Split-Rocker (2000), previously installed at the Papal Palace in Avignon, Château de Versailles, and Fondation Beyeler in Basel, was most recently on view at Rockefeller Center in 2014.

Koons has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his cultural achievements. Notably, the artist received the Governor’s Awards for the Arts “Distinguished Arts Award” from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; President Jacques Chirac promoted Koons to Officier de la Legion d’Honneur; former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton honored Koons with the State Department Medal of the Arts for his outstanding commitment to the Art in Embassies Program and international cultural exchange; and Consul General Ragini Gupta presented Koons the U.S. Consulate General’s Award for Cultural Diplomacy in Florence.

In 2017, Koons was made the first Artist-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and, also, made an Honorary Member of University of Oxford's Edgar Wind Society for Outstanding Contribution for Visual Culture. Koons has been a board member of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) since 2002, and cofounded the Koons Family International Law and Policy Institute with ICMEC for the purpose of combating global issues of child abduction and exploitation and to protect the world’s children.

The authentic Jeff Koons art on 1stDibs includes sculptures, prints, mixed media and more.

(Biography provided by Galleri GKM Siwert Bergstrom)

Every time you move into a house or an apartment — or endeavor to refresh the home you’ve lived in for years — life for that space begins anew. The right home accent, be it the simple placement of a decorative bowl on a shelf or a ceramic vase for fresh flowers, can transform an area from drab to spectacular. But with so many materials and items to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the process. The key to styling with antique and vintage decorative objects is to work toward making a happy home that best reflects your personal style. 

Ceramics are a versatile addition to any home. If you’ve amassed an assortment of functional pottery over the years, think of your mugs and salad bowls as decorative objects, ideal for displaying in a glass cabinet. Vintage ceramic serveware can pop along white open shelving in your dining area, while large stoneware pitchers paired with woven baskets or quilts in an open cupboard can introduce a rustic farmhouse-style element to your den.

Translucent decorative boxes or bowls made of an acrylic plastic called Lucite — a game changer in furniture that’s easy to clean and lasts long — are modern accents that are neutral enough to dress up a coffee table or desktop without cluttering it. If you’re showcasing pieces from the past, a vintage jewelry box for displaying your treasures can spark conversation: Where is the jewelry box from? Is there a story behind it?

Abstract sculptures or an antique vessel for your home library can draw attention to your book collection and add narrative charm to the most appropriate of corners. There’s more than one way to style your bookcases, and decorative objects add a provocative dynamic. “I love magnifying glasses,” says Alex Assouline, global vice president of luxury publisher Assouline, of adding one’s cherished objects to a home library. “They are both useful and decorative. Objects really elevate libraries and can also make them more personal.”

To help with personalizing your space and truly making it your own, find an extraordinary collection of decorative objects on 1stDibs.