10 Things You Should Know About KAWS 

KAWS, Brian Donnelly, merges art and pop culture, crafting iconic x-eyed sculptures, evolving from graffiti to global art prominence.

Aug 24, 2019By Alexandra Karg, BA Art History & Literature
10-things-you-should-definitely-know-about-kaws
Untitled (Kimpsons #3), 2003, Source: Courtesy Sotheby’s; with Kaws’ Companion (Passing Through). Source: Wikimedia Commons

 

The name KAWS, or Brian Donnelly, evokes iconic sculptures resembling Mickey Mouse with x-ed eyes. A multifaceted artist, designer, and pop culture icon, his distinct style emerged from his roots in 1990s graffiti. Now globally recognized, KAWS’ work has graced cities from Paris to Tokyo and prominent galleries. Celebrated figures like Swizz Beatz and Pharrell Williams admire his art, while his design collaborations include giants like Nike and Comme des Garçons.

 

1. Kaws Is a Man Between Spheres

Kaws alias Brian Donnelly and Pharell Williams. ©Kaws via Instagram
Kaws alias Brian Donnelly and Pharell Williams. ©Kaws via Instagram

 

Kaws is an artist-designer of the present, if not from the future. Not only does the 45-year-old New Yorker looks much younger than he actually is. He also shows how the art world could predominately look like in the upcoming decades. Unlike many other artists, Kaws does not limit his work to the traditional art market.

On the contrary, Kaws is directly beyond this classical understanding and his art stands somewhere between fine art and global commerce. Brian Donnelly is thus taking advantage of both a very exclusive market and a global market.

 

2. Kaws Worked for “101 Dalmatians”

101 Dalmatians, ©Disney
101 Dalmatians, ©Disney

 

Brian Donnelly moved from his hometown Jersey City to New York when he was about 20 years old. In New York City he attended the School of Visual Arts, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration in 1996.

After his graduation, Donnelly started to work for Jumbo Pictures. As a freelance animator for Disney, Brian Donnelly had the chance to contribute to productions like “101 Dalmatians”, “Daria” and “Doug”. Still today, one has the impression to recognize an influence form that time. Kaws has often reworked familiar Disney-Characters such as Mickey Mouse in his artworks.

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3. Kaws Became Famous for Designing Toys

Kaws‘ artwork “Companion”. ©Kaws
Kaws‘ artwork “Companion”. ©Kaws

 

The artist’s career already began at the interface between art and commercial work. In the late 1990s, Brian Donnelly had the chance to design and produce limited edition vinyl toys.

These toys were the first designs Brian Donnelly became famous for – especially in the toy collecting scene of Japan. In the Japanese community, vinyl toys are still well respected and widespread.

Today Kaws is famous for repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs. Some of them are dating back to the beginning of his career in the 1990s. One of it is “Companion”, a vinyl figure of Mickey Mouse with x-ed out eyes, that was created with Japanese company Bounty Hunter in 1999. Others are called “Accomplice”, “Chum” and “Bendy”. A lot of sculptures he realised in later years, were initially painted in 2D and later realised in 3D.

 

4. He Had a Flagship Store in Japan

After Brian Donnelly finished his studies in New York and worked as a freelance animator for different Disney productions, the artist launched Original Fake. With his iconic label, Kaws released different editions of designer toys and sold them in different flagship stores.

One of it was located in Tokyo, which in the end helped the artist to catapult the cult of Kaws internationally. The small vinyl toys became tall sculptures later. Today Kaws’ work includes sculptures of a few inches as well as some that are ten metres tall.

 

5. He Was First Influenced by Graffiti Street Art

Graffiti sketches done by Kaws in 1985. ©Kaws via Instagram
Graffiti sketches done by Kaws in 1985. ©Kaws via Instagram

 

Brian Donnelly’s first interest in the art field was triggered by other children in elementary school. As a young boy, Donnelly became interested in graffiti. He first started to copy graffiti images onto paper.

The first influence for his own graffiti work was neighborhood children, who painted graffiti images on walls in his neighborhood. Later, more traditional painters became his influences. One of them is the German painter Gerhard Richter. Others are Klaus Oldenberg and Chuck Close.

 

6. Kaws Is Often Compared to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Today Kaws’ artworks can be seen in galleries all over the world, beside artworks of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat – artists Kaws is often compared to. © Kaws, via Instagram
Today Kaws’ artworks can be seen in galleries all over the world, beside artworks of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat – artists Kaws is often compared to. © Kaws, via Instagram

 

Kaws himself is often compared to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Haring and Basquiat also started as graffiti artists in New York City and became fine art artists later. From today’s perspective, Kaws’ works are aesthetically more comparable to Keith Haring’s, while Jean-Michel Basquiat created art in a very different style.

Today the artworks of all three artists regularly can be seen side by side in galleries, as various posts by Brian Donnelly on his Instagram account show.

 

7. Kaws and His Artstyle

Sculpture by Kaws. ©Kaws via Instagram
Sculpture by Kaws. ©Kaws via Instagram

 

The art of Kaws is characterized by always recurring elements. There is a strong emphasis on colour and line as well as the repeated use of “x”s on hands and eyes.

There is also repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs that are connected to pop culture and pop-art: Mickey Mouse for example, but also the Michelin Man, Snoopy as well as Sponge Bob Square Pants. Kaws shows his sculptures often in the same pose, hiding their eyes with their hands.

Kaws works with different material: fibreglass, aluminum, wood, bronze, steel pontoon inflatable raft. He creates sculptures – some a few inches high, others ten metres tall –, acrylic paintings on canvas and screen prints.

As a designer, he is collaborating commercially and creating designs for edition toys, clothing, skate decks and many other products.

 

8. Kaws Has Many Followers on Instagram

Kaws is also working a designer. Here, for example, he designed a perfume bottle in cooperation for the Commes des Garçons x Pharrell Wiliams collection. ©Kaws via Instagram
Kaws is also working a designer. Here, for example, he designed a perfume bottle in cooperation for the Commes des Garçons x Pharrell Wiliams collection. ©Kaws via Instagram

 

The art of Kaws is characterized by always recurring elements. There is a strong emphasis on colour and line as well as the repeated use of “x”s on hands and eyes.

There is also repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs that are connected to pop culture and pop-art: Mickey Mouse for example, but also the Michelin Man, Snoopy as well as Sponge Bob Square Pants. Kaws shows his sculptures often in the same pose, hiding their eyes with their hands.

Kaws works with different material: fibreglass, aluminum, wood, bronze, steel pontoon inflatable raft. He creates sculptures – some a few inches high, others ten metres tall –, acrylic paintings on canvas and screen prints.

As a designer, he is collaborating commercially and creating designs for edition toys, clothing, skate decks and many other products.

 

9. Kaws Revealed His Tallest Artwork in 2019

In 2019, Kaws presented his so far tallest sculpture in Taiwan. ©Kaws, via Instagram
In 2019, Kaws presented his so far tallest sculpture in Taiwan. ©Kaws, via Instagram

 

Cute, handy and colourful – that’s how artworks of Kaws look most of the time. In 2019 the artist presented his biggest work to date in Taiwan. The title of the 36-meter large inflatable sculpture is “KAWS: COMPANION”.

The giant sculpture was realized in cooperation with “All Rights Reserved”, a creative agency from Hong Kong, which already produced a bronze statue of the artist in 2018.

 

10. Kaws Sold His Most Expensive Work in 2019

“The Kaws album” was sold for 115.9 million Hong Kong dollars at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. ©Sotheby’s
“The Kaws album” was sold for 115.9 million Hong Kong dollars at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. ©Sotheby’s

 

2019 is a good year for the artist. In 2019 Kaws not only presented his so far tallest sculpture in Taiwan, but the artist has also sold his most expensive work.

On April 1, 2019 the painting “The Kaws album” from 2005 was sold for 115.9 million Hong Kong dollars ($14,7 million US dollars) at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong – a new auction record for the artist.

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By Alexandra KargBA Art History & LiteratureHey! I am Alexandra Karg. I am researching, writing and lecturing on topics in the field of art and culture. In my hometown of Berlin I completed my studies in literature and art history. Since then I have been working as a journalist and writer. Besides writing, it is my passion to read, travel and visit museums and galleries. On TheCollector.com you will find articles by me about art and culture, especially about topics referring to the 20th century and the present.