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Puppy

Puppy, known in Spanish as Cachorro, is a modern floral sculpture by American artist Jeff Koons, created in 1992. It is located in front of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, where it was installed in October 1997. The work depicts a Scottish puppy of the West Highland White Terrier breed. It consists of a steel structure covered with approximately 38,000 natural plants, which are replaced twice a year as they stop blooming, and includes an internal irrigation system. The sculpture measures 12.4 by 12.4 by 8.2 meters and weighs a total of 16 tons.

Jeff Koons’ Puppy topiary sculpture covered in flowers, with a skyscraper and city buildings behind it.
Jeff Koons’ Puppy rises in Bilbao, surrounded by modern city buildings and hills in the distance.
2016 © · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Puppy, a giant dog sculpture covered in colorful flowers, standing outdoors near the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Puppy, the flower-covered dog sculpture, shown outdoors in Bilbao.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
The Puppy flower sculpture stands in an outdoor plaza, covered in red, pink, white, and green flowers, with people gathered nearby.
Puppy, the flower-covered dog sculpture, displayed in a plaza with visitors nearby.
September 2010 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
Puppy floral dog sculpture covered in red, pink, white, and green flowers in an outdoor plaza.
Puppy, the floral dog sculpture, stands in a plaza with modern buildings in the background.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
A close view of Puppy, the floral sculpture, covered in green foliage with small purple, yellow, and white flowers.
A section of Puppy, the living floral sculpture near the Guggenheim Museum, fills the frame.
January 2013 © José Luis Filpo Cabana · CC BY 3.0

Identification

TitlePuppy
Spanish titleCachorro
Typefloral sculpture

Historical context

Created1992
Commissioned forArolsen Castle in Bad Arolsen, Germany
Creation contextCommissioned after Koons was not among the 44 American artists selected to exhibit at Documenta IX in 1992

Creator

ArtistJeff Koons
Artist nationalityAmerican

Physical characteristics

Depictsa West Highland White Terrier puppy
Height13 metres
Dimensions12.4 × 12.4 × 8.2 metres
Weight16 tons

Materials

Structure materialstainless steel
Surface coveringapproximately 38,000 live plants and flowers
Plant varietymarigolds, begonias, petunias, and lobelias

Technique

Internal structuresteel skeleton with an internal irrigation system
Maintenanceplants are replaced twice a year, as they stop flowering

Location and ownership

Current locationin front of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Current siteoutdoor terrace of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Installed at current siteOctober 1997
Purchased bySolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Purchased1997

History and restoration

Sydney installationinstalled in Sydney in 1995; later dismantled and re-erected at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sydney Harbour
Temporary relocationmoved to New York in summer 2000 for a temporary exhibition at Rockefeller Center
Attempted bombingtargeted in an attempted bombing by ETA; men disguised as gardeners tried to plant flowerpots filled with explosives near the sculpture; the attack was foiled by Basque police officer José María Aguirre, who was later shot by ETA members
Later copya copy of the Bilbao statue commissioned by Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour for their property in Connecticut, intended for the Brant Foundation Art Study Centre
Irrigation system renovationrenovation started on 27 September 2021 after months of crowdfunding through the museum's website; estimated cost was 100,000 euros; by November 2021, 52,000 euros had been raised; the goal was to make maintenance more sustainable and economically viable; the works included replacement and cleaning of the structure and internal layers holding the substrate, and a new self-watering system regulated by humidity sensors in different areas; the irrigation system had been in service for 24 years; the first major preventive conservation work took place that autumn, just before the flower change
Funding supportSeguros Bilbao helped fund flower replacement

Other

Plant count at Arolsenunspecified number of plants
Plant count at Sydneyabout an unspecified number of plants