About the Artist
KAWS engages audiences beyond the museums and galleries in which he regularly exhibits. His prolific body of work straddles the worlds of art and design to include paintings, murals, graphic and product design, and large-scale sculptures. Over the last three 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. His refined graphic language revitalizes figuration with both big, bold gestures and playful intricacies.
KAWS often appropriates and draws inspiration from pop culture animations and iconography, forming a unique artistic vocabulary across mediums. Admired for his larger-than-life sculptures and hardedge paintings that emphasize line and color, KAWS’ cast of hybrid cartoon characters are the strongest examples of his exploration of humanity. As seen in his collaborations with global brands, KAWS’ imagery possesses a sophisticated humor and reveals a thoughtful interplay with consumer products. With their broad appeal, KAWS’ artworks are highly sought-after by collectors inside and outside of the art world, establishing him as a uniquely prominent artist and influence in today’s culture.
KAWS (b. 1974, Jersey City, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, New York) has exhibited extensively in renowned institutions, including solo exhibitions at – San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California (2025); Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2025); The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2024); Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, New York (2024); Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada (2023); Serpentine Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2022); Mori Arts Center Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2021); The Brooklyn Museum, New York, New York (2021); The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (2019); Fire Station, Qatar Museums, Doha, Qatar (2019); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Missouri (2017); Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China (2017); Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2016); Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Longside Gallery, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom (2016); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Málaga, Spain (2014); Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia (2013); High Art Museum, Atlanta, Georgia (2011); and Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2010).
Location In and around the Haupt Conservatory