Painted in 2010, KAWS’s THE WAY HE KNOWS is a key example of the artist’s ability to exude complex emotion through nostalgic imagery. Cropping in on the immediately recognizable cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants, KAWS brings this character into his unique vernacular with his signature crossed out eyes. Presented with an open mouth and clenched face, his figure is suffused with primal emotion. At approximately seven feet tall, SpongeBob’s iconic yellow visage is expanded to larger-than-life proportions, amplifying its emotional impact to the viewer.

 

 

 

 

"Even though I use a comic language, my figures are not always reflecting the idealistic cartoon view that I grew up on, where everything has a happy ending."
—KAWS

 

 

In the early 2000s, the artist began to reappropriate iconic cartoon characters from the last half century in his painterly practice, making these universal characters his own by voiding them of their original narrative context. The artist notably illustrates the familiar faces of cartoon cultural icons such as Snoopy, SpongeBob, Smurfs, The Simpsons, Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse. Evoking a unique sense of nostalgia, his iconography recalls the purity of childhood memories while conflicting with the complexities of contemporary life.

 

 

 

 

Created by marine science educator Stephen Hillenburg in the late 1990s, SpongeBob SquarePants is the highest rated series to ever air on the children’s American cartoon network, Nickelodeon. With more than 275 episodes spanning over two decades, SpongeBob SquarePants has become a household name adorning television screens in more than 200 countries. Despite being a common theme in the artist’s body of work, KAWS admits, “SpongeBob was something I wanted to do because graphically I love the shapes. But honestly, when I’m painting SpongeBob, I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, I loved this episode.’ Honestly, I’ve never even watched it.”ⁱ

 

 

"It's a little hard to extract that personality out of me. I've always hated the smoke and mirrors from artists ahead of me, where you get to see this staged photo and that's what they stick to. I think, especially for kids following me, I try and make the point that you literally can do this. You can get into art."
—KAWS

 

KAWS’s multidisciplinary practice which incorporates painting, sculpture, and print-making, has caught the attention of collectors worldwide. As his fine art practice continues to reach new heights, the artist has shown commitment to remaining accessible by collaborating with global fashion brands including Dior, Nike, and Uniqlo. His practice has been honored with numerous solo shows around the globe, including a 2011 solo exhibition at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT, where the present work was on view. The artist also received a retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia (2019-2020) and most recently, the highly acclaimed major survey at the Brooklyn Museum, New York in 2021. His works are cemented within the permanent collections of international institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas, the CAC Malaga in Spain, and the Rosenblum Collection in Paris.

 

 

 

 

ⁱ KAWS, quoted in Tobey Maguire, “KAWS,” Interview Magazine, April 27, 2010, online.