KAWS, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, was born in Jersey, New Jersey, USA in 1974. He graduated from the Illustrations Department of the New York School of Visual Arts. After graduating in 1996, KAWS worked as a freelance animator at the Jumbo Pictures animation studio under Disney, where he created animation backgrounds for television animations such as “101 Spotted Dog,” “Doug,” and “Daria.
Dolls are an indispensable part of KAWS’ creations. We often see familiar cartoon characters in KAWS’ design elements, and KAWS can always transform them into another appearance, full of childlike charm and humor. KAWS also wants to incorporate his childhood into his creations and present it to everyone in this way. After a long process of creating based on photos, KAWS uses more challenging oil paintings as a carrier to create images that incorporate popular cartoon character elements, such as Mickey Mouse and Mr. Michelin Tire. These artistic images all have friendly names: Chum, Companion, and Accomplice.
His creations not only revolve around painting, graphic and product design, murals, and large-scale sculptures, but also involve the creation of many creative masterpieces, all of which are displayed in art museums around the world.
According to Artprice’s “2020 2021 Contemporary Art Market Report”, KAWS has sold a total of 1682 works in the past year. In terms of auction volume, along with Murakami Takashi and Banksy, KAWS has become one of the most favored artists in the art market in 2021.
KAWS’ artworks cover all price ranges and are very prolific. His success has further expanded due to the emergence of a new group of online buyers, while also reflecting the special significance of “art toys” loaded with street art and popular aesthetic concepts.
