KAWS

Born Brian Donnelly in Jersey City, New Jersey, KAWS is a multi-faceted New York based artist who began his career as a graffiti artist before going on to become one of the most recognisable names in contemporary art. He honed his skills in the early 1990s, graffiti-bombing trains, walls and billboards in Lower Manhattan before moving on to subverting images on bus stops and phone booths with his now iconic characters. After graduating with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1996, he began working as a freelance artist for Disney, creating animated backgrounds for productions including 101 Dalmatians and Doug.

His prolific body of work straddles the worlds of art and design, encompassing paintings, murals, graphic and product design and large-scale sculptures, with an underlying wit, irreverence and affection for our times. His ability to straddle the line between high and low art, appropriating familiar characters and giving them a new identity, has resonated with audiences worldwide, and his influence can be seen not only in galleries and museums but in the realms of fashion, design and popular culture.

His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and he has collaborated with brands including Nike, Uniqlo and Dior.