The Art Gallery of Ontario had the Canadian museum debut of artist Brian Donnelly (1974), better known as KAWS. This exhibit featured the icon KAWS mascots displayed in several different mediums, alongside various collaborations the artist had done. I don't remember when exactly I discovered KAWS, but I've seen many of their collaborations with various clothing brands. Most recently, they had a collaboration with Uniqlo.
Here is the introduction to the exhibit, copied over from the AGO's web page:
"Making his Canadian museum debut, Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly (1974), better known as KAWS, bridges the worlds of art, popular culture and commerce with sophisticated humour and insightful appropriation. Renowned for his larger-than-life sculptures of cartoon-inspired characters and exuberant hard-edge paintings that playfully emphasize line and colour, much like 1960s Pop artists, he blurs the boundaries between populist and elite art, bringing mass media imagery into traditional art spaces. Straddling the world of art and design, KAWS has forged a large international following both inside and outside the art world.
In this original AGO exhibition, visitors will see first hand the artist's meticulous methods, creative process and range, through more than 75 artworks including wall murals, sketches, paintings, sculptures, his altered phone booth advertisements and product collaborations. Centered in Signy Eaton Gallery, with interventions throughout the museum, the centrepiece of the exhibition, is a larger-than-life painted bronze sculpture FAMILY (2021), featuring four of KAWS’ recurring figures of varying sizes posed as a nuclear family. "
LET'S TAKE A LOOK INSIDE~!
(Click any image to view larger)
As you enter the gallery, you are welcomed by the FAMILY.
Nike x KAWS Collaboration Display
Various paintings using vibrant colours!
Me VS Emotional Sculptures
One of the many collaborations done with a cereal brand!
The Simpsons x KAWS Artwork and Sesame Street x KAWS Custom Couch
The atrium area of the exhibit displayed wooden sculptures of the KAWS friends. Of course, I had to recreate their poses too.
The gift shop also included some special KAWS goods! I didn't grab anything for myself, but I thought the artbooks were really cool!
I hope that there will be more cool exhibits in Toronto soon! This one will finish at the end of March, so if you are interested, I would highly recommend going~! Visit the AGO website for more details about the exhibit.