Kiki Kogelnik was an Austrian-American artist who moved from Vienna to New York in 1962. Today, she is best known for her paintings, stencils, and prints in the pop art style. However, in her sculptural works, first in ceramics and later in glass, many of her favourite themes and motifs can be found.

During the 1990s, Kogelnik created works that were a combination of paintings and ceramics, which she called "Expansions". Her growing visibility led to the opportunity to work with master craftsmen in new media, including bronze and glass. This allowed her to transform her two-dimensional imagery into vibrant three-dimensional sculptures. With her cancer diagnoses in early 1993, symbols of mortality re-emerged, but still with a sense of humour. Motifs featuring the image of a head became central during her final production years; they were both expressive, comic-book-like, and profound. With her spiky hair and open eyes and mouth, this iconic image became one of Kogelnik's trademarks.

Berengo Studio was founded in 1989 by Adriano Berengo with a vision to create a new path for art glass. Since its inception, the studio has collaborated with a large number of internationally renowned contemporary artists who have been invited to create works in glass alongside Murano masters. Over the years, many of the world's most established contemporary artists have engaged in various ways with the collaborations at the Berengo studio in Venice.

In her final years, Kogelnik created a whole series of Venetian glass heads with varying expressions and unexpected colour combinations, works that became an important part of her artistic expression.