Best Western Movie

KAWS was born Brian Donnelly and grew up in New Jersey, where he began his art career as a graffiti artist – defacing billboards and ads with his characteristic X marks.  He’s a BFA graduate of the School of Visual Arts in NYC and currently lives in Brooklyn.

I’m increasingly interested in street artists who move so fluidly between graffiti, illustration, fine art, and product design.  KAWS was obviously influenced by cartoon characters – probably grew up drawing them like most boys who are artists – but has taken iconic characters like Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob to another level with his unique signature twists.

He also is one of a growing group of contemporary artists whose work is available for purchase in a variety of media, including fine art, highly collectable vinyl toys (ala KidRobot), snowboards, sneakers and clothing. KAWS is omnimedia.

How does his work show in a gallery?  I drove over to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to see.

Tags: Fine Art