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Biography
KAWS (American, b.1974) is a notable limited-edition toy and clothing designer. He was born in Jersey City, NJ, as Brian Donnelly. Growing up in New Jersey, KAWS first became interested in graffiti in elementary school, where he spent a good deal of time copying graffiti images onto paper.
His first influences were neighborhood children, who painted graffiti images on walls within his community. As he grew older, his influences came from traditional life painters, such as Gerhard Richter (German, b.1932), Klaus Oldenberg (Swedish, b.1929), and Chuck Close (American, b.1940).
KAWS career began as a graffiti artist in New York, NY, in the early 1990s. His images were seen on billboards, bus stops, and in phone booths. He obtained his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Immediately after graduation in 1996, KAWS began working as a freelance artist for Disney, creating animated backgrounds. Some of his most popular works include his contributions to 101 Dalmations, Daria, and Doug. Once KAWS began to gain popularity, his graffiti advertisements became highly sought after. He traveled extensively to work in Paris, London, Germany, and Japan. In 1998, he received the Pernod Liquid Art Award, which offers a grant to new artists. In late 1990s, KAWS began to design and produce limited-edition toys. These gained international popularity, especially in Japan. He also began to collaborate on several different toys, including with Nigo (Japanese, b.1970) for A Bathing Ape. Some of KAWS’s other popular collaborative works include his redesign of Mickey Mouse, The Michelin Man, and SpongeBob SquarePants. The artist’s solo exhibitions have been held at The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, CT, the Harris Museum in Preston, UK, the Parco Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, and the City Gallery Chastain in Atlanta, GA. His solo exhibition, OriginalFake at the Bape Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, featured a sculpture entitled Wonderful World, which sold for US$400,000. KAWS’s traveling exhibition, Beautiful Losers, toured throughout Europe and the United States and included a showing at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.Kaws and Disney
Graffiti Was The Beginning
Here come the Toy's
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Timeline
Exhibitions
Where The End Starts, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; Yuz Museum, Shanghai (solo exhibition)
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire (solo exhibition)
Permanent Vacation, Eden Rock St. Barths, St Jean Bay, St Barthélemy, French West Indies (solo exhibition)
Along the Way, Brooklyn Museum, Nueva York (solo exhibition)
Clean Slate, La Nave, Las Salinas, Ibiza (solo exhibition)
Clean Slate, Shanghai Times Square, Shanghai (solo exhibition)
Mutated Reality, Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow
A Shared Space: KAWS, Karl Wirsum, Tomoo Gokita, Newcomb Art Museum at Woldenburg Art Center, Tulane University, Nueva Orleans, Louisiana
Paulin, Paulin, Paulin, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris
Respect, CAC Málaga - Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga
Along the Way, At This Time, Better Knowing - ArtZuid 2015. International Sculpture Route, Foundation ArtZuid, Ámsterdam; curated by Rudi Fuchs
Man’s Best Fiend, Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles, California (solo exhibition)
Clean Slate, Harbour City, Hong Kong (solo exhibition)
Final Days, CAC Málaga - Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga (solo exhibition)
PLAY YOUR PART, Galería Javier López, Madrid (solo exhibition)
New Abstraction, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
Paint New York. Painting From the American Eastcoast, Kunstforeningen GL Strand, Copenhagen
Pop Sculpture - Pop Culture, Leila Heller Gallery, New York
Bad Boy!, New Art Projects, London
OK, I’ll rename it, Bill Brady Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri
Summer Collective Exhibition, 3 Punts Galería, Barcelona
Full House, Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
KNOCK! KNOCK!, Galería Javier López, Madrid; curated by Fer Francés
Joyride, Marlborough, New York
G I R L, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, París; curated by Pharrel Williams
If you’re accidentally not included, don’t worry about it, Galerie Zürcher, New York; curated by Peter Saul
Wall to Wall, Hang - Up Gallery, London
This is Not a Toy, Design Exchange, Toronto; curated by John Wee Tom, Sara Nickleson and Pharrell Williams
Making Links: 25 Years, SCAI | The Bathhouse, Tokyo
Mary Boone Gallery, New York; in collaboration with Galerie Perrotin (solo exhibition)
Pass the Blame, Galerie Perrotin, New York (solo exhibition)
Ups and Downs, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas (solo exhibition)
KAWS @ PAFA, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (solo exhibition)
KAWS: Giswil, More Gallery, Giswill, Switzerland (solo exhibition)
Ohhh…, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo (solo exhibition)
Happy Birthday Galerie Perrotin / 25ans, Tri Postal, Lille
The System of Objects, Deste Foundation, Athens
Pictoplasma White Noise, La Casa Encendida Madrid
At home I´m a tourist’ Colección de Selim Varol - CAC Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga, Málag
Imaginary Friends - Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin - Paris, Paris
Companion - The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
The Nature of Need - Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin - Paris, Paris
Kaws: Down Time - The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Hold The Line - Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
Kaws - Companion (passing Through) - The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France; traveling
Plastic Culture, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, UK
Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA
Just what is it that makes today's painting so different, so appealing?, Gering & López Gallery, New York
Gering & López Gallery, New York, NY (solo)
Ugly Winners, Galerie Du Juor Agnes B., Paris, France
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
Original Fake, BAPE Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (solo)
Session The Bowl , Deitch Projects, New York, NY
ALIFE Shop, Deitch Projects, New York, NY
Coded Language, City Gallery Chastain , Atlanta, GA
Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
New Acquisitions from the Dakis Joannou Collection , Deste Foundation, Athens, Greece
Tokyo First , Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (solo)Public Collections
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