Skip to content
KAWS (American, born 1974). WHAT PARTY, 2020. Bronze, paint, 90 × 43 5/16 × 35 3/8 in. (228.6 × 110 × 89.9 cm). © KAWS. (Photo: Michael Biondo)

Last call for KAWS exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum

Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Sheila Gibson Stoodley
KAWS (American, born 1974). WHAT PARTY, 2020. Bronze, paint, 90 × 43 5/16 × 35 3/8 in. (228.6 × 110 × 89.9 cm). © KAWS. (Photo: Michael Biondo)
KAWS (American, born 1974). WHAT PARTY, 2020. Bronze, paint, 90 × 43 5/16 × 35 3/8 in. (228.6 × 110 × 89.9 cm). © KAWS. (Photo: Michael Biondo)

BROOKLYN – KAWS: WHAT PARTY closes at the Brooklyn Museum on September 5. The sweeping survey of KAWS’s career traces the Brooklyn-based artist’s rise from graffiti artist to a dominating force in the contemporary art world.

Renowned for his paintings and sculptures of pop culture-inspired characters, as well as his playful use of abstraction and his meticulous execution, KAWS bridges the worlds of art, popular culture, and commerce while investigating our connection to objects and to one another. With a practice formed outside of orthodox art-world channels and rooted in graffiti art, drawing, and animation, KAWS has expanded access to his art by allowing the general public to purchase editions of his work and to interact with it digitally.

KAWS (American, born 1974). KAWSBOB 3, 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 72 × 96 in. (182.9 × 243.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Pharrell Williams. © KAWS
KAWS (American, born 1974). KAWSBOB 3, 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 72 × 96 in. (182.9 × 243.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Pharrell Williams. © KAWS

KAWS: WHAT PARTY highlights a range of works from the artist’s diverse career, including drawings, paintings, bronze sculptures, smaller objects, furniture, and monumental wooden sculptures of the beloved COMPANION character, as well as a selection of new and existing works that have never been publicly displayed.

KAWS (American, born 1974). COMPANION, 2010. Fiberglass, paint, 96 × 48 × 36 in. (243.8 × 121.9 ×91.4 cm). © KAWS
KAWS (American, born 1974). COMPANION, 2010. Fiberglass, paint, 96 × 48 × 36 in. (243.8 × 121.9 ×91.4 cm). © KAWS

Throughout the exhibition, visitors will be invited to directly engage with KAWS’s work through Acute Art, an augmented reality app the artist has partnered with. In conjunction with WHAT PARTY, a towering new sculpture by the artist was installed at Rockefeller Center’s historic plaza in August.

KAWS (American, born 1974). UNTITLED (KIMPSONS), PACKAGE PAINTING SERIES, 2000–02. Acrylic on canvas in blister package with printed card, 19 × 23 1/2 in. (48.3 × 59.7 cm). © KAWS. (Photo: Brad Bridgers Photography)
KAWS (American, born 1974). UNTITLED (KIMPSONS), PACKAGE PAINTING SERIES, 2000–02. Acrylic on canvas in blister package with printed card, 19 × 23 1/2 in. (48.3 × 59.7 cm). © KAWS. (Photo: Brad Bridgers Photography)

The exhibition also includes an integrated shop featuring the artist’s products, acknowledging the ways KAWS investigates the space between art and commodity. His exploration of this gray area draws on a rich history of exercises in commodification in fine art, namely Claes Oldenburg’s The Store (1961) and Keith Haring’s Pop Shop.

KAWS: WHAT PARTY is curated by Eugenie Tsai, John and Barbara Vogelstein Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum.

Presented by DIOR. Leadership support for this exhibition is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Visit the website of the Brooklyn Museum and see its dedicated page for KAWS: WHAT PARTY.

# # #

KAWS