Kaws (New Jersey 1974 -)


About

KAWS is an American graffiti artist and designer known for his toys and paintings. Pop Art and culture permeate his cartoonish figures—such as his Disney-esque Companion—which bears a resemblance to the work of Takashi Murakami. “Graffiti is like building a career,” the artist reflected. “And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of people who don’t paint just see a blur when they look at it.”

Born Brian Donnelly on November 4, 1974 in Jersey City, NJ, KAWS worked in animation after graduating with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Having started as a graffiti artist in New York in the early 1990s, KAWS began reworking advertisements in his distinctive style. Gaining both street accreditation and more recently gallery exhibitions, his work can be found in the collections at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Rosenblum Collection in Paris. In 2017, KAWS worked together with Nike to produce an Air Jordan 4 shoe and Uniqlo to produce a Peanuts inspired T-shirt, continuing to blur the boundaries between fine and commercial art. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Exhibition

KAWS / CV

Born in 1974, Jersey City, New Jersey

Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York



EDUCATION

1996 BFA | School of Visual Arts, New York

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022

KAWS: NEW FICTION, Serpentine North, London

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Changbai Mountain, China



2021

KAWS: SPOKE TOO SOON, Skarstedt, New York, NY

KAWS: TOKYO FIRST, Mori Arts Center Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

KAWS: CANVAS WORKS, Zemack Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel

KAWS: WHAT PARTY, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Skarstedt, Palm Beach, FL

KAWS: WHAT PARTY, Seagram Building, New York, NY

KAWS: PRINTS, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

KAWS: SHARE, Rockefeller Center, New York

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Bristol, United Kingdom



2020

KAWS: WHAT PARTY, Seagram Building, New York, NY

KAWS: WHAT PARTY, K11 Art Musea, Hong Kong

KAWS: EXPANDED HOLIDAY (Augmented Reality), New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; London, UK; Paris, France; Sao Paolo, Brazil; Seoul, Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; Doha, Qatar; Katavi National Park, Tanzania; Melbourne, Australia



2019

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Dhow Harbour, Doha

KAWS: HE EATS ALONE, Fire Station, Qatar Museums, Doha, Qatar

KAWS: BLACKOUT, Skarstedt, London, United Kingdom

KAWS: COMPANIONSHIP IN THE AGE OF LONELINESS, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Mount Fuji, Japan

KAWS: ALONE AGAIN, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Virginia Beach, VA

KAWS: ALONG THE WAY, HOCA Foundation, Hong Kong

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan



2018

KAWS: CLEAN SLATE, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX

KAWS: GONE, Skarstedt, New York

KAWS: HOLIDAY, Seokchon Lake, Seoul, South Korea

KAWS, Galerie Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan

KAWS, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong



2017

KAWS, The Greenberg Gallery, St. Louis, MO

FAR FAR DOWN, Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

WHERE THE END STARTS, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China



2016

WHERE THE END STARTS, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX

KAWS: BFF, Central Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand

KAWS: GISWIL, More Gallery, Giswil, Switzerland

KAWS, Galerie Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea

KAWS, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, UK



2015

Permanent Vacation II, Eden Rock Gallery, St. Barts

ALONG THE WAY, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

CLEAN SLATE, LA NAVE, Las Salinas, Ibiza, Spain

CLEAN SLATE, Shanghai Times Square, Shanghai, China



2014

MAN’S BEST FRIEND, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA

Permanent Vacation, Eden Rock Gallery, St. Barths

CLEAN SLATE, Harbour City, Hong Kong, China

FINAL DAYS, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, Spain

PLAY YOUR PART, Galeria Javier Lopez, Madrid, Spain



2013

KAWS at 30th Street Station: COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), presented by Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

KAWS GISWIL, More Gallery, Giswil, Switzerland

KAWS @ PAFA, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Sculpture Plinth Exhibition Program: KAWS, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

UPS AND DOWNS, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS

Ohhh…, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

PASS THE BLAME, Galerie Perrotin, New York, NY

KAWS, Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY



2012

COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX

IMAGINARY FRIENDS, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France

THE NATURE OF NEED, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, China

KAWS: DOWN TIME, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA



2011

KAWS: COMPANION, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Focus: KAWS, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX

Hold The Line, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA

COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), The Standard, New York, NY COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT



2010

COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), Harbour City, Hong Kong, China

Pay the Debt to Nature, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France

KAWS, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT

KAWS, Galeria Javier Lopez, Madrid, Spain



2009

The Long Way Home, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA



2008

KAWS, Gering & López Gallery, New York, NY

SATURATED, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami, FL



2003

OriginalFake, BAPE Gallery, Tokyo, Japan



2002

C9, MU Art Foundation, Eindhoven, Netherlands



2001

Tokyo First, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan



1999

KAWS, Colette, Paris, France



GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022

Sculpture, Skarstedt Paris, France

Un Panorama de este Mundo, Fundacion Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Visions, 10th Annual Singapore Arts Week, National Gallery, Singapore

1970s/GRAFFITI/TODAY, Phillips Park Avenue, New York, NY

Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA

Light to Night Festival, National Gallery, Singapore



2021

ArtZuid Sculpture Biennale, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Black/White, Skarstedt, East Hampton, NY

Painter/Sculptor, Skarstedt, London, United Kingdom

The Looking Glass, Frieze, New York, NY



2020

Collectouples, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY

Nuit Blanche Arts Festival, Paris, France

The Flag Project, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY



2019

Paintings & Sculptures, Skarstedt, New York

Inaugural Exhibition, Skarstedt 64th Street, New York



2018

Approaching The Figure, Skarstedt, New York



2016

Character, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denkmark

Holdings: Selections from MCASD’s Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Greek Gotham, Dio Horia Gallery, Mykonos, Greece

A Material Legacy: The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection of Contemporary Art, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC



2015

A Shared Space: KAWS, Karl Wirsum, Tomoo Gokita, Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

Respect, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, Spain

ArtZuid 2015, Amsterdam, Netherlands



2014

If You’re Accidentally Not Included, Don’t Worry About It., curated by Peter Saul, Zurcher Studio, New York, NY

Joyride, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY

Ok, I’ll rename it, Bill Brady KC, Kansas City, MO

Knock! Knock!, Galeria Javier Lopez, Madrid, Spain Full House, Garth Greenan Gallery, New York, NY PAINT NEW YORK, GL Strand, Copenhagen, Denmark



2012

East West Shift to the Middle Part #1, Bill Brady KC, Kansas City, MO

Group Show – Wangechi Mutu – KAWS – Jeff Sonhouse – Wim Delvoye, Gallery Zidoun, Luxembourg

It Ain’t Fair 2012, OHWOW, Miami, FL



2011

PRETTY ON THE INSIDE, organized by Erik Parker and KAWS, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY

Art in the Streets, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA



2010

Mutant Pop, curated by Joe Grillo, Laura Grant, and Brandon Joyce, Loyal Gallery, Malmö, Sweden

It Ain’t Fair, OHWOW, Miami, FL

The Reflected Gaze – Self Portraiture Today, The Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA



2009

Just what is it that make today’s painting so different, so appealing, Gering & López Gallery, New York, NY

Stages, organized by Lance Armstrong and Nike, Galerie Emannuel Perrotin, Paris, France

Alpha Exotica, curated by Dimitrios Antonitsis, Hydra School Projects, Athens, Greece

The New Yorkers, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Plastic Culture, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, UK



2008

Everything Else, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY



2007

POPcentric, Gering & López Gallery, New York, NY



2006

Info Babble, Richard & Dolly Maass Gallery, Purchase, NY

Ugly Winners, Galerie Du Juor Agnes B., Paris, France



2004

Beautiful Losers, curated by Aaron Rose and Christian Strike, Le Tri Postal, Lille, France; Palazzo Dell’Arte, Milan, Italy; USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL; Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; Yerba Buena Arts Center, San Francisco, CA; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH



2003

SK8 on the Wall, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan



2002

Session The Bowl, Deitch Projects, New York, NY

ALIFE Shop, Deitch Projects, New York, NY

Coded Language, City Gallery Chastain, Atlanta, GA



2001

Shortcuts, Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Athens, Greece

Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece

New Acquisitions from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation, Athens, Greece



PRIZES

2022 American Folk Art Museum 60th Anniversary Gala Honoree

2022 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Ball Honoree

2021 Brooklyn Museum Artists Ball Honoree

2021 ArtReview Power 100

2019 New York Academy of Art Tribeca Ball Honoree

2019 Honorary Doctorate Degree, New York Academy of Art

2019 The Bloomberg 50

2018 Hirshhorn Museum New York Gala 2018 Honoree

2018 amfAR Hong Kong Gala Honoree

1998 Pernod Liquid Art Award



SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Brooklyn Museum, New York

CAC Malaga, Malaga, Spain

City Museum, St. Louis, MO

Hall Art Foundation, Reading, VT

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Durham, NC

Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH

Rosenblum Collection, Paris

Zabludowicz Collection, London