Oxana Zhnykrup
Oksana Leontiyivna Zhnikrup (1931 – 1993) was a Ukrainian ceramicist, whose works are held in the collection of the National Folk Decorative Art Museum. The sculpture Seated Ballerina by Jeff Koons is closely inspired by her ceramic works of ballet dancers, such as Ballerina Lenochka.
Also recorded as Oksana Zhnikrup · Оксана Жнікруп
Oxana Zhnykrup
- Name
- Oksana Zhnikrup
- Birthplace
- Chita, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Chita, Russia)
- Born
- 1931
- Died
- 1993
- Education
- Grekov Odesa Art School
- Nationality
- Soviet Union · Ukraine
- Occupation
- sculptor · ceramicist
- Teachers
- Myron Kipnis
- Languages
- Ukrainian
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Oksana Leontiyivna Zhnikrup (1931 – 1993) was a Ukrainian ceramicist, whose works are held in the collection of the National Folk Decorative Art Museum. The sculpture Seated Ballerina by Jeff Koons is closely inspired by her ceramic works of ballet dancers, such as Ballerina Lenochka.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Oksana Zhnikrup • Birthplace — Chita, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Chita, Russia) • Born — 1931 • Died — 1993 • Education — Grekov Odesa Art School • Notable Works — Ballerina Lenochka
Life
Life
Zhnikrup was born in 1931 in Chita, Russia. Her mother was an actress and her father was a public servant, who was executed in 1932 on charges of espionage. Zhnikrup attended Grekov Odesa Art School and from there began work at the Baranovsky Porcelain Factory, where she worked from 1952 to 1954. In 1955 she began work at the Experimental Ceramic and Artistic Plant in Kyiv. It was during this period that her original style became pronounced, and when she produced some of her finest work, with ceramics inspired by ballet and circus themes. She also collaborated with the artist Olga Rapay.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1931
Oxana Zhnykrup was born on 31 January 1931.
1993
Oxana Zhnykrup died on 13 January 1993.
Places
Named by the record
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Chita.
Birth place
Kyiv.
Death place
Legacy
The National Folk Decorative Art Museum in Kyiv has a collection of pieces by Zhnikrup. In 2017, Zhnikrup's work came to public prominence when the artist Jeff Koons was suspected of using her ballerina sculptures as inspiration for his work Seated Ballerina. The similarity was first noted by the Georgian artist Lado Pochkhua, who posted a comparison of the works on social media. It was subsequently discovered that Koons did have the appropriate licenses to use two of Zhnikrup's works: “Ballerinas before the performance” (1961) and “Ballerina Lenochka” (1974).
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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