Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s Puppy reveals a new floral coat
This is the first time the installation at Bilbao’s iconic museum has had a redesign…
Puppies and flowers – what’s not to love? Standing largely and proudly outside the entrance to Bilbao’s world-renowned Guggenheim Museum since 1997, Puppy is a monumental installation created by American artist Jeff Koons.
At 40ft tall, more than 38,000 flowers completely cover the sculpture, which are usually changed twice a year. But for 2022, Puppy has been given a new look by Koons and the curators at Guggenheim to celebrate the museum’s 25th anniversary.
The coat, which was previously a patchwork of colours, will now be predominantly white with a few bright colours weaved into the design to highlight its texture and outline.
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Puppy is based on a West Highland terrier (Erika Ede/Guggenheim Museum Museo)
Its new coat is predominantly white (Erika Ede/Guggenheim Museum Museo)
“This monochrome arrangement conveys peace, renewal, and love,” said Koons. “My original concept for Puppy was based on a white terrier, so our spring planting is a harmonious composition of mainly white flowers in the spirit of the original model.
“It continues to communicate acceptance and the live flowering plants are symbolic of life’s energy.”
The artist continued: “Since it was installed, Puppy has embraced millions of visitors at the entrance of the iconic Guggenheim Bilbao, so it is a sincere honour to have Puppy become a part of the anniversary celebration and greet visitors in this fresh new way.”
Puppy’s petunias, begonias, dimorphothecas and other flowers will be in full bloom in just a few weeks time, when it resemble the fur coat of the West Highland terrier.
The preparation which goes on behind the scenes is intense, with thousands of flowers being planted prior specifically to decorate the giant dog.
To plan your visit to Guggenheim, head to guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en
