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Introduction

In New York in the 1990s, the street artist KAWS, alias Brian Donnelly, painted over advertising, replacing famous models on billboards with a fictional cartoon figure with X’s for eyes. This figure with its distinctive face quickly became an audience favourite and the artist’s trademark as it embarked on an unstoppable conquest of the art world. Along the way, the “X X” eyes came to stand for an innovative artistic concept that gripped all of popular culture. KAWS expanded his repertoire of figures and created 3D versions of them. Today, he is one of the world’s most sought-after artists, and his larger-than-life sculptures gaze out over the world in a number of different places as if they were a physical part of their surroundings. Wherever his works appear or are released in rare editions, art venues and galleries are inundated by buyers and fans.

Bio

Brian Donnelly (born 1974), known as KAWS, is an American artist and designer. Numerous key galleries and museums have featured KAWS in the past and his works have been offered at auction multiple times. The artist lives and works in New York.

Collections

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, USA
One Campus Martius, Detroit, USA

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

2022	ONLINE: Acute Art presents: KAWS: New Fiction, Serpentine North Gallery, London, UK
2021	KAWS Prints, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
	KAWS: Spoke Too Soon, Skarstedt Gallery, New York, USA
	KAWS: What Party, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, USA
2019	KAWS: Blackout, Skarstedt Gallery, London, UK
	KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, NGV International, Melbourne, Australien
	KAWS: Playtime, NGV International, Melbourne, Australia
	KAWS: Blame Game, Galerie Boisséree, Cologne, Germany
	Kaws: Alone Again, MOCAD, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, USA
2018	KAWS: Gone, Skarstedt Gallery, New York, USA
	Kaws, Galerie Perrotin, Kowloon City, Hong Kong; Galerie Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan
2017	Brian Donnelly: Reassemble, Stephanie Chefas Projects, Portland, USA
	KAWS ,CAM, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Missouri, USA
	KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China
2016	KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, USA
	KAWS, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK
2015	KAWS: Along the Way, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, USA
2014	KAWS, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, USA
	KAWS, CAC Málaga, Malaga, Spain
	Kaws: Play Your Part, Galeria Javier López&Fer Frances, Madrid, Spain
2013	KAWS, Galerie Perrotin, New York, USA
	KAWS, Mary Boone Gallery, New York, USA
	KAWS @ PAFA, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA
	Kaws: Ohhh…, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
	KAWS at 30th Street Station, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA
2012	Kaws: Imaginary Friends ,Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
	COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth ,Ft. Worth, USA
	KAWS: Down Time, High Museum of Art ,Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2011	Focus: KAWS, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Ft. Worth, Texas, USA
	KAWS: Companion, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
	KAWS: Hold the Line, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, USA
	KAWS: Companion (Passing Through), The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, USA
2010	Brian Donnelly: Obedience&Savagery, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, Canada
	KAWS, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, USA
2009	KAWS, paintings and sculpture, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, California, USA

Group Exhibitions

2022	Skarstedt at Sotheby’s, Palm Beach, USA
	Sculpture, Skarstedt Gallery, Paris, France
	Un Panorama De Este Mundo, Proa Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2021	Recent Editions, Pace Prints, New York, USA
	Art of Wishes. Charity Auction, Sotheby’s London, London, UK
	Black/White, Skarstedt Gallery, New York, USA
	The Looking Glass, The Shed, New York, USA
	Spring Contemporary, Maddox Gallery, London, UK
	Highlights from the Permanent Collection, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, USA
2020	It’s Not Possible – Fas Art & Fashion Show, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
	Winter Contemporary, Maddox Gallery, London, UK; Gstaad, Schweiz
	Mirage: Contemporary Art in Augmented Reality, UCCA Beijing, Beijing, China
	Summer Contemporary, Maddox Gallery; Gstaad, Switzerland
	Artcels Presents 'XXI', HOFA Gallery, Mykonos, Griechenland; Los Angeles, USA; London, UK
2019	Brand X: 40 Years, Pace Prints, New York, USA
	Accrochage, Galerie Boisséree, Köln, Germany
	Matt Black X Gana Art: Reflections, Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
	Happy!, NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale, USA
	Get Out While You Can, Maddox Gallery, London, UK; Gstaad, Switzerland
2018	Sunday Morning, Galerist, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey
	Good Grief, Charlie Brown!, Somerset House, London, UK
	Ganaart Hannam: In Context, Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
2017	Gallery Collection, Whitestone Gallery, Hong Kong
	Frieze Sculpture 2017, Frieze Art Fair, London, UK
2016	Unique | Editions, Ikon Ltd., Santa Monica, USA
	CHARACTER, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
	Greek Gotham, Dio Horia, Mykonos, Greece
	They Would be Kings, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2015	Mutated Reality, Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moskau, Russia
	3rd Art Collector Starter Kit, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Respect, CAC Málaga, Malaga, Spain
2014	Pop Sculpture - Pop Culture, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, USA
	Group Show: OK, I'll rename it, Bill Brady KC, Kansas City, USA
	This Is Not A Toy, Design Exchange, Toronto, Canada
	Group Show, Galerie Zürcher, New York, USA
2013	The System of Objects, DESTE Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art, Athen, Greece
2011	Takashi Murakami: New Day, Artists for Japan, Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA
	Pretty On The Inside, Kasmin Gallery, New York, USA
2009	Shepard Fairey, Banksy, David Choe, KAWS, Nick Walker, and more: Get Rich Quick, Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA