Brian Donnelly (b. 1974) studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Before he achieved success as an artist he worked as a background painter on animated series such as Disney’s 101 Dalmationsand cult shows Daria and Doug. From an early age Donnelly was known for marking buildings in New Jersey and Manhattan with ‘KAWS’, a tag he chose because he liked the way the letters looked together.
KAWS
Brian Donnelly (b. 1974) studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Before he achieved success as an artist he worked as a background painter on animated series such as Disney’s 101 Dalmationsand cult shows Daria and Doug.
From an early age Donnelly was known for marking buildings in New Jersey and Manhattan with ‘KAWS’, a tag he chose because he liked the way the letters looked together. He soon moved on from this simple tag, howeverand developed a unique style that involved adding cartoon-like figures to bus-shelter advertisements.
Later, he would replicate these early works of ‘subvertising’ in a series of screenprint lithographs. These included a mock Calvin Klein ad, featuring supermodel Christy Turlington being embraced by a green figure.
His origins in graffiti brought his work to a diverse audience, many of whom had nothing to do with the art world. Unlike most artists, KAWS did not start out with a gallery; he was fully aware of the benefits of showing his work in the street and mass-producing pieces in order to build a following. This following became so big that it attracted the attention of collectors and critics.
Speaking of his early days as a graffiti artist, Donnelly said, ‘When I was doing graffiti, my whole thought was, "I just want to exist." I want to exist with this visual language in the world… It meant nothing to me to make paintings if I wasn’t reaching people.’
In 1999 Kaws visited Japan after being approached by Bounty Hunter, the cult toy and streetwear brand. He would go on to create his first toy, ‘COMPANION’. Produced in an edition of 500, the toys sold out almost immediatelyand COMPANION became a recurring figure in Kaws’ work.
Kaws’s practice acknowledges that works of art can occupy multiple realms—the aesthetic and the transcendent, the commodified and the priceless—and emphasizes that even within a cultural environment shaped by image and consumption, universal emotions such as love, friendship, lonelinessand alienation remain constant. KAWS invites us to engage with his work, both in person and virtuallyand explore our own relationship with and connection to objects.
