Published in concert with the artist’s sell-out exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, KAWS: WHAT PARTYreproduces drawings from the artist’s earliest sketchbooks, as well as documentary photographs of his nascent street art (Donnelly learned to photograph his graffiti, since he could never be sure whether the pieces would last), and his billboard ad interventions, right up through to his more recent, large-scale productions, such as his exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Great Britain in 2016; his monumental, inflatable, travelling installation, KAWS:HOLIDAY; his collaborations with manufacturers such as Estudio Campana; and his astronomical 2020 project, which saw the artist launch one of his Companion sculptures into space. I’m pleased to be launching my new Phaidon Contemporary Artist Series book exclusively with my long time partner UNIQLO. Featuring a new text by Margaret Atwood, a biographical essay by NGV Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Dr Simon Maidment, and more than 200 images, including documentation of the career-survey exhibition KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness at the National Gallery of Victoria, this publication is a comprehensive overview of the artist’s work to date. His friend and fellow artist Barry McGee gave him a tool that enabled Donnelly to unlock the ad display boards on the city’s phone booths.

KAWS × UT | UNIQLO UK KAWS × UT | UNIQLO UK

By downloading images from this page you agree to the following restrictions: these images are available for editorial press use only. The second half of the book comprises full-page illustrations of each of the fifty works on paper in “MAN’S BEST FRIEND”, the centerpiece of the exhibition.No matter which one you pick, KAWS: WHAT PARTY will unlock access to a compelling new field within contemporary culture, pioneered by one of the most important artists of our time. Back in the mid-to-late 1990s, shortly after his move to New York, Brian Donnelly received a particularly useful gift.

need to know about KAWS: WHAT PARTY | art - Phaidon All you need to know about KAWS: WHAT PARTY | art - Phaidon

His innovative, colourful, clean-lined renderings of his now familiar characters such as Companion (a dead-eyed, skull-headed take on Mickey Mouse), Chum (a poppy take on the Michelin Man) and BFF (a more adult version of Sesame Street’s Elmo) appear in contemporary art collections across the world. However, that skeleton key, combined with Donnelly's artistic talents, ambition, and feel for the moment, enabled him to open up an entirely new avenue for his work. They’re also prized by key figures in the worlds of music and fashion, such as Drake, Jay-Z and Nigo; and they are adored by an international quorum of pop-culture connoisseurs, who assiduously collect KAWS’s sculptures, paintings, vinyl toys and other works, each of which break down the divide between fine art and mass culture, in much the same way the artist himself once sprang the locks on NYC’s phone booth displays. To celebrate the occasion, I designed a small capsule collection of T-shirts and sweatshirts that will be available for a limited time.Published on the occasion of the exhibition KAWS: BLACKOUT at Skarstedt, London, this catalogue, features full plate images, details, and installation photographs, as well as custom fluorescent printing throughout and black-edging. Over the last two decades KAWS has built a successful career with work that consistently shows his formal agility as an artist, as well as his underlying wit, irreverence, and affection for our times. Written by the acclaimed critic and curator, Daniel Birnbaum, and Eugenie Tsai, the John and Barbara Vogelstein Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, at the Brooklyn Museum, KAWS: WHAT PARTY is a must-have for followers of contemporary art, as well as cultural connoisseurs with an interest in fashion, music and design. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Acute Art and curated by Acute’s Artistic Director, Daniel Birnbaum. Published on the occasion of the exhibition KAWS: WHAT PARTY at the Brooklyn Museum, this catalogue, features full plate images, details, and installation photographs.