Once you start noticing Kohler, it’s hard to unsee: the sink in your bathroom, the toilet in your favorite café, the fixtures in the highest-end hotel you’ve ever slept in. Founded in 1873, the company has embedded itself into the rituals of daily life — often by rethinking what utility can look like, and pushing the boundaries of what it should.
Its first bathtub, famously, was a cast-iron horse trough. And in 1985, Kohler took another creative leap with the launch of Artist Editions — a program that brought art into modern bathroom trends in ways that felt groundbreaking then, and still do now.
The initiative, which turns 40 this year, has commissioned over 117 limited-edition designs from a diverse roster of artists, ranging from resident ceramicists at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center to celebrated multidisciplinary talents like Janet Echelman and Daniel Arsham (whose collaborative cabin I stayed in last summer, complete with his very own Artist Editions fixtures like the sculptural Rock.01 sink).
Each artist brings their own narrative, medium, and methodology, resulting in avant-garde bath fixtures rarely seen in the broader market. Most are limited editions, though a select few have since earned their place as lasting icons.
There’s no singular aesthetic across the archive — and that’s by design. Each artist brings their own visual vocabulary to the Kohler language, often employing techniques not typically associated with bathroom fixtures: glasswork, specialty glazes, intricate decals, glasswork, and beyond.
“I believe that every time we’ve pushed the boundaries of what a fixture is expected to look like, we’ve created moments of awe — moments that shift perceptions,” says Dana Morales, manager of Artist Editions and CMF Design Studio at Kohler Co.
“Back in 1985, when we launched the first six collections, it’s likely no one — except Herbert Kohler — imagined that an artist could transform everyday fixtures into functional art," she continues. "That bold vision set the tone for the next 40 years.”
That tone includes some wild and wonderful firsts. In 2021, for instance, the brand released a ceramic sink made entirely through 3D printing — an experimental process that fused traditional craft with digital technology. Even so, museum pieces they are not.
Unlike most special-edition works that must be handled with care, kept under glass, or — for all intents and purposes — are practically unusable, these are not prototypes. And they never were.
From the outset, they were designed to inspire and to be lived with, says Dana, which “means they must meet the same high standards of function and quality as any other Kohler product. The artistry has never been just for display; it’s part of the everyday experience — bringing beauty into daily life.”
Which raises the question: how do Artist Editions come to life in the first place — and who gets to make them? In the early days, artist selection was overseen by Jan Axel, who also shaped some of the first collections, such as the sinuous Serpentine series, which launched in 1985.
Today, the in-house design team leads the charge, balancing internal development with external partnerships that, as Dana puts it, “expand our creative perspective and continue pushing the boundaries of what Artist Editions can be.”
A leopard-print sink? Why not. As Dana Morales explains, the point of Artist Editions is to honor the hands that make them, and expand the definition of what bathroom design can be.
Every collaboration begins with research — market trends, emotional resonance, and the translation of abstract ideas into material form. “Depending on the material, development varies,” Dana explains.
“We use digital renderings and 3D printing to conceptualize early ideas.” That initial prototype, she says, isn’t the end goal — it’s the turning point. “That’s the moment months of creativity become real.”
And while the methods may evolve, the mission remains remarkably the same. “From the beginning, Artist Editions has been about a relentless pursuit of innovation in thought, craft, and storytelling,” Dana says. “It’s about celebrating the hands that bring these objects to life — and telling stories that resonate on a deeply emotional level.”
If you want to dip into the archives, be warned: Kohler doesn’t reissue past designs — once they’re gone, it's for good. But a select few have earned a place in the permanent repertoire.
These archival holdovers offer a tangible link to Artist Editions’ past — and a reminder that even the most avant-garde expressions can thrive in the everyday.
Among them: Serpentine Bronze, a deep oval bowl etched with turtles, fish, and serpents, inspired by ancient Chinese design (Dana tells me it was a favorite of Herbert Kohler); and Botanical Study, an undercounter basin adorned with 16th-century Turkish florals — tulips, chrysanthemums — rendered with a surprisingly striking delicacy.
Kohler had more than a century of bathroom innovation behind it before Artist Editions began. Still, it’s one thing to lead a category — and another to continue evolving it. Initiatives like this, grounded in artistry and built for longevity, are what keep Kohler at the forefront.
Forty years on, Artist Editions is still doing what it set out to do: elevating the everyday. Celebrating the hands behind the work. And continuing to shape, quietly and beautifully, the way we live with design.
“As we look to the next decade,” Dana says, “our ambition is to keep evolving — without ever losing the soul of what we create.”
Here’s to 40 years of Kohler's Artist Editions — and to whatever comes next.
Though its shape might echo a cut gemstone, this basin is, in fact, made of glass. Its faceted surface — available in several colorways — casts brilliant reflections across surrounding countertops.
This dynamic design appears to be hand-drawn — and it was. Inspired by 16th-century Turkish florals, the expressive motifs of butterflies, plants, and wild botanicals were applied directly to vitreous china, resulting in a pattern that feels both antique and alive.
Kensho merges Japanese sashiko patterning with 15th-century Italian acquaforte etching. Carved into natural stone — limestone or marble — and detailed in champagne gold, Kohler aptly describes the piece as “a vibrant marriage of strength and beauty.”
Peer into the sapphire-blue basin and you’ll notice a series of angled seams forming a Y-shaped motif across the exterior wall. The mesmerizing pattern, rendered in opaque glass, recalls the ripple of water drawing you toward its center.
This piece from Daniel Arsham’s Landshapes takes its cues from the moment two water droplets meet. A sculptural ode to organic design, it captures the fluidity and softness at the heart of the movement.
The inspo: a Chinese bronze basin circa 475–221 B.C. Swimming turtles, twisting fish, and serpents curl along the bowl’s edge, their mouths appearing to hiss into the depths of the sink.
Speaking of archives: if you’re drawn to the more imaginative side of bath design, these retro bathroom accessories pair perfectly with the spirit of Kohler’s Artist Editions.
