kaws

“KAWS,” BRIAN DONNELLY (New Jersey, 1974) for Medicom Toy.
“What party”.
Painted vinyl. Open Edition.
Comes in its original, unopened packaging.
Measurements: 28 x 13 x 9 cm.
Few figures in contemporary art have achieved anything as unique as those of KAWS. The piece we present here belongs to the COMPANION universe, perhaps Brian Donnelly’s most recognizable creation. With their characteristic “X”-shaped eyes, gloved hands, and features inherited and transformed from animation iconography, the significance of this series was particularly evident in KAWS: WHAT PARTY, the major exhibition that the Brooklyn Museum in New York dedicated to the artist in 2021. The exhibition brought together more than a hundred works and spanned twenty-five years of his career, from his early works linked to graffiti and interventions in public spaces to his paintings, sculptures, and large-scale installations. The Companions played a leading role in this retrospective.
KAWS’s career largely reflects the transformation of 21st-century contemporary art. Trained in New York and hailing from the graffiti scene, Donnelly worked as an animator before developing his own artistic language that blends painting, sculpture, drawing, design, and popular culture. His work has moved seamlessly between the street, galleries, design, and major international institutions. His museum recognition includes exhibitions at institutions such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. His works are also part of major public collections, including those of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Yuz Museum in Shanghai.