自從於2011年在奧爾德里奇舉辦展覽以來,KAWS已成為世界上最著名的藝術家之一。他在Instagram上擁有超過400萬名追蹤者,其拍賣紀錄亦高達美元1,477萬(THE KAWS ALBUM,香港蘇富比,2019年4月)。藝術家也喜歡在廣受歡迎的博物館舉辦展覽,其中包括布魯克林博物館(〈KAWS: WHAT PARTY〉,2021年2月26日至9月5日)和沃夫茲堡現代藝術博物館(〈KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS〉,2016年10月20日至2017年1月22日),而他與沃荷的聯繫將於今年在沃荷博物館的大型展覽中得到進一步的探討:〈KAWS + Warhol〉,2024年5月18日至2025年1月20日。
i Michael Auping,《America’s Cartoon Mind》,引述於《Where the End Starts: KAWS》,編輯自Andrea Karnes和Marla Price,德克薩斯州,2017年,第68頁
ii KAWS與菲瑞·威廉斯的對談,2016年1月22日,引述於《Where the End Starts: KAWS》,編輯自Andrea Karnes和Marla Price,德克薩斯州,2017年,第83頁
To understand the work of KAWS is to understand his roots in the skateboard and graffiti crews of New York City. Brian Donnelly chose KAWS as his moniker to tag city streets beginning in the 1990s, and quickly became a celebrated standout in the scene. Having swapped spray paint for explorations in fine art spanning sculpture, painting and collage, KAWS has maintained a fascination with classic cartoons, including Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons, and reconfigured familiar subjects into a world of fantasy.
Perhaps he is most known for his larger-than-life fiberglass sculptures that supplant the body of Mickey Mouse onto KAWS' own imagined creatures, often with 'x'-ed out eyes or ultra-animated features. However, KAWS also works frequently in neon and vivid paint, adding animation and depth to contemporary paintings filled with approachable imagination. There is mass appeal to KAWS, who exhibits globally and most frequently in Asia, Europe and the United States.