Renowned American artist and designer KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, ascended to prominence in the late 1990s, navigating the intersection of street art and high art with aplomb. By 2017, KAWS had attained global recognition, boasting a fervent following and collaborating with luminaries such as Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and renowned brands like Nike, Comme des Garcon, and Uniqlo.
KAWS seamlessly bridges the realms of art and design with his influential body of work. Spanning diverse mediums including painting, murals, monumental sculpture, and street art, alongside graphic and production design, his creations exude a sophisticated wit and a nuanced engagement with consumer culture, often through collaborations with renowned global brands. Drawing inspiration from and reinterpreting pop culture icons, KAWS has crafted a distinctive artistic language that traverses various mediums. Renowned for his monumental sculptures and bold paintings, characterized by sharp lines and vibrant colors, KAWS has introduced a captivating cast of characters that blur the lines between cartoon and humanity, serving as profound reflections on the human experience.
Diverging from his customary rectangular canvases, the prints within "The News" exhibit a circular format, a departure from KAWS' typical presentation. Vibrant and abstract, these prints echo the bold color palette reminiscent of Andy Warhol's Pop Art prints from the 1960s. Characterized by bold lines, vivid hues, and recurring motifs such as crosses, the prints exemplify KAWS' unique artistic style. Though seemingly fragments of his cartoon characters, discerning specific body parts amid the kaleidoscope of shapes and colors proves challenging.
The prints are similar to KAWS' other series, including Tension, but are distinguished by their circular form. The prints appear to show close-ups of KAWS' cartoon characters, which are hard to discern under an overlayed medley of shapes and acidic colors. The prints feature Spongebob-inspired attributes and "XX" letterforms in vivid tones.
Drawing parallels to graffiti luminaries like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, KAWS initially gained prominence within the graffiti scene. His tenure at the School of Visual Arts in New York fostered the development of "subvertising," a practice involving the clandestine alteration of advertisements with his comic-inspired graffiti. The resultant figurative cartoon characters, omnipresent in his oeuvre, found their genesis in this period. "Models," a collection by KAWS, reflects the essence of his subvertising, featuring his signature skull and crossbone motif juxtaposed with models' faces.
KAWS' exhibitions have garnered international acclaim, with recent solo showcases hosted at prestigious institutions like the Brooklyn Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, among others. Additionally, KAWS has left his mark on prominent art institutions worldwide, including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, and the Deste Art Foundation for Contemporary Art.
March 26, 2024
