Artist Biography

KAWS aka Brian Donnelly is a celebrated artist and designer who has evolved from graffiti and mass-produced commercial items to create unique sculptures, installations and paintings for some of the most prestigious galleries, public institutions and museums in the world.

KAWS (b. 1974, Jersey City) received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York in 1996. He became interested in graffiti at an early age, and honed his skills in the early 1990s, graffiti-bombing trains, walls and billboards in Lower Manhattan before moving on to subverting advertisements on bus stops and phone booths with his characters such as ‘The Companion’, ‘Bendy’ and ‘The Accomplice’. These illegal interventions gained KAWS notoriety and his popularity quickly skyrocketed as the ads became increasingly sought after.

KAWS has successfully blurred the line between fine art and mass-produced merchandise by using his products and multiple collaborations to allow his imagery to infiltrate a larger audience than that of the fine art world. After successfully launching his own fashion label, Original Fake, in the early 2000s, he began working with a number of cult streetwear labels, including Bathing Ape and Supreme. He has also designed clothing for popular brands such as Vans, Uniqlo, and Nike, as well as Comme des Garçons, Lucas Films and Hennessy. He also contributed to Kanye West’s ‘808s & Heartbreak’ album cover; redesigned MTV’s iconic ‘Moon Man’ statue for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards and provided the inspiration for a balloon displayed in the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at institutions including Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China; Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, USA; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Galerie Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea; and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK.

In 2018 KAWS’ work realised over £25,900,000 at auction yet it was 2019 that was undoubtedly KAWS’ year. Large-scale public installations for Basel Hong Kong and Paris Fashion Week foreshadowed a new record auction price for the artist, his painting ‘The KAWS Album’ reaching an impressive £11.3 million at Sotheby’s and cementing his position as one of the world’s most relevant artists.

KAWS currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

KAWS Artwork Consignment

We offer a bespoke consignment service where clients can sell their limited edition prints and originals to our collector base.

Please contact graeme@monikerprojects.com for further information.