How KAWS Ascended from Graffiti Artist to Art World Wunderkind

When artist Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS chose his graffiti moniker—which has since graced walls from his hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey to museums and sites around the world—he selected his famous initials because he liked the look of letters’ shapes together. Now, more than two decades since, it is that same wholly authentic approach that guides KAWS’ drawings, paintings, sculptures, and toy designs. Influences of animation and abstraction, as well as his trademark wit and irreverence, are central themes throughout his work. Yet it is the artist’s ability to remain true to himself and his innate love of the visual form that has secured his place among today’s most significant creatives.

Celebrating KAWS’ vast pop cultural appeal, New York’s Brooklyn Museum opens its widely-anticipated exhibition KAWS: What Party this week in the first comprehensive survey of his work in a Tri-State museum. Spanning the entirety of his career, the show traces from examples of KAWS’ earliest work—including ‘90s graffiti drawings and notebooks on display for the first time—to the creation of his signature characters Chum and Companion, as well as the many collaborations that have been integral to his creative practice.

"KAWS: What Party offers an opportunity to see how he evolved as an artist, and to experience in person, the vibrant and luminous colors of his paintings and the distinctive surface finishes of his objects,” curator Eugenie Tsai tells L’OFFICIEL. “Whether they are seeing KAWS’ art for the first time or are already knowledgeable admirers, visitors will come away with an appreciation of the artistry, breadth, and timeliness of his vision."

Divided into five parts, the showcase begins with the start of KAWS' art career, after his graduation from New York’s School of Visual Arts and his year-long stint as a Disney animator. Highlights of these early works include photos of his graffiti tags and murals, and the altered bus shelter and phone booth ads that were initial markers of his talent. Then, the next portion of the exhibit explores how the artist gives the KAWS treatment to cartoon characters in his work, such as The Simpsons (The Kimpsons), The Smurfs (The Kurfs), and SpongeBob SquarePants (Kawsbob). Beginning with points of collective nostalgia and familiarity, KAWS makes the iconic images his own through his hallmark skull and crossbones and Xed-out eyes, as well as the subtle—and not-so-subtle—transgressive themes beneath the works’ shiny, playful surfaces.

The relationship between KAWS' new artwork and current culture is the focus of the following segment of the show. Art pieces, such as “Urge” and "Separated," touch on the broad sense of personal anxiety and isolation during the global pandemic and present-day social climate, often applying retro Minimalist forms and a neon-infused palette. While the fourth part of the show delves into KAWS’ many design collaborations—which have ranged from perfume bottles and album covers to guitar picks and plush toy-covered furniture. The artist’s high fashion work with Comme des Garçons and Christian Dior is complemented by accessible merch from his former Japanese boutique and fashion label, OriginalFake, and projects with Supreme, Nike, and Uniqlo. These diverse endeavors collapse the worlds of creativity and commerce, as well as populist and elite artistry.

"We can think of Companion and Chum, represented in KAWS’s sculptures, or The Kimpsons represented in his paintings, as stand-ins for friends and family members," says Tsai. "We identify with the feelings of joy, as well as frustration, suggested by their gestures and body language, whether the situation is one of social interaction or of contemplative self-examination. These characters are able to communicate across cultural and geographical boundaries, speaking powerfully to basic human emotions."

Central within KAWS’ art are connections to both people and objects, and how those relationships affect personal experiences. In fact, the artist’s primary goal has always been to reach people through his work. Last year, he released an augmented reality (AR) app with virtual sculptures to allow audiences to digitally interface and create their own experiences of his art from any locale, further increasing his artistic reach.