Enter the world of KAWS in Melbourne

“Hello there. Life is tough, but so are you.” – Happy Pill #5

Last weekend, I, together with my husband and my daughter, went to this amazing exhibit at the National Gallery of Victoria. It is the work of contemporary artist, Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS. Those of you who are into streetart and installations may be interested in his work, as he started out as a graffiti and street artist.

Shown above is the entry door to the KAWS exhibit and below is the entry to the National Gallery of Victoria. I have more doors at the end of this post and I am sharing this for Norm’s Thursday Doors Challenge –

The World of KAWS.

On display at the NGV’s centre court, is this 7-meter “larger than life” bronze sculpture called GONE. It depicts a sense of sorrow as we recall Michelangelo’s Pieta, but in a cartoon character form.

Some of KAWS’ art and design – paintings, murals, larger than life sculptures, product design, graphic design, street art and public art. Most of his work are colourful and showing cartoon characters (reminiscent of the Simpsons, Sesame Street, Smurfs, Spongebob Squarepants and more) with an XX for eyes.

As taken from the NGV exhibit:

KAWS: Companionship in the age of Loneliness

Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, was born in 1974 in New Jersey and started out as a graffiti and street artist. Now living and working in Brooklyn, New York, KAWS engages with the complexities of modern life and the contemporary built environment, and contrasts them with the aesthetics of pop and street culture.

Admired for his larger than life sculptures and colour- filled paintings, KAWS employs a cast of hybrid cartoon and human characters drawn from pop-culture animation across generations to form a distinctive artistic vocabulary.

KAWS’s prolific body of work bridges the world of art and design to include paintings, murals, large-scale sculptures, street and public art, and graphic and product design. His work is infused with humour, humanity and an acute sense of precariousness of our times. The work of KAWS reminds us that we need one another, and that in the face of fear and hatred we should aim to live as compassionately as possible to combat this ‘age of loneliness’.

KAWS’ Companionship in the Age of Loneliness is an exhibition about humanity, loss, loneliness, companionship, BFFs with a dose of cuteness and colour. (will be on display from September 2019-April 2020 at the NGV)

Just a bit of comedy here, my family posing as the characters in his installations.