Few artists have been able to straddle the world of art and commerce as easily as KAWS. In the past year, he has crafted limited edition tees and accessories for Uniqlo, introduced his latest character 'BFF' with an eight-meter-tall statue at Central Embassy in Bangkok and stunned European art critics with his stunning wood statues populating Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
The Brooklyn-based artist and designer has become a pop art star, synonymous with cool. MTV recruited him to remake their iconic Moonman award given for their Music Awards show, Macy’s asked him to remake his popular 'Companion' character into a balloon for their Thanksgiving Day Parade, brands like Dos Equis and Hennessy have reached out for limited-edition bottles designs and rappers like Kanye and The Clipse have had album covers created for them.
“KAWS uses the same imagery to seamlessly cross visual divides, such as commerce and art. So
few artists have done this successfully, but Andy Warhol and Keith Haring are two good examples,” says Andrea Karnes, the curator behind the retrospective show, Where the End Starts.
Boasting around 100 works, Where the End Starts drew record-breaking crowds to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. It arrived at the Yuz Museum in late March, where it will run until August 13.
“KAWS has such a huge fan base in Asia,” Karnes says of the show that will also be his first career retrospective on the continent.
“The Yuz Museum recognizes that and expressed their interest in his work early in the process. The Yuz space and their enthusiasm for KAWS make them a perfect second venue.”
Boasting works that span oil paintings, sculptures, toys and graffiti, Where the End Starts is a thorough examination of KAWS’ unlikely career. The New Jersey born artist struck upon his style as a graffiti artist in the 1990's, first coming to renown for painting cartoon heads and tails onto fashion advertisements across New York City.
While some of the subverted ads would remain in place for months, they became highly sought collectible items as KAWS’ popularity rose in the fledgling street art scene. Japanese clothing brands like Bounty Hunter and A Bathing Ape were early adopters, recruiting KAWS to create limited edition toys and clothing.
Pop culture is a recurring motif in KAWS’ work he's memorably remade beloved animated characters from The Smurfs, The Simpsons and Peanuts. Pharrell Williams commissioned the artist on a series based on SpongeBob Squarepants.
'Companion' remains KAWS’ signature piece. Its mixture of KAWS’ signature inflated skull and crossbones, its Mickey Mouse body and his face covered by both gloved hands has made him a modern “subculture hero.” Sculptures of the character have loomed large in Manhattan, Hong Kong, Malaga and London.
KAWS describes the character “as a figure in the world now, and it’s not all great out there.” Despite the cartoonish roots of his characters, Karnes credits the artist’s appeal to the emotions
they immediately elicit.
"KAWS's figures often express what it means to be human,”she says. “The moods they convey are universally understood regardless of what language or cultural background you come from. We can all relate to feeling sad, shy or overwhelmed.”
Other characters like the Michelin Man-esque 'Chum', the pink bunny 'Accomplice' and the recently revealed Sesame Street-ish 'BFF' will be featured in Where the End Starts.
“The works were carefully chosen to show KAWS’main themes in various media,” Karnes explains. "Visitors will see the Chum figure in the form of painting, sculpture, drawings and so on.”
Mar 28-August 13, 10am-9pm (Tues-Sun), RMB150. Yuz Museum. See event listing here.
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