It’ll be interesting to see how lockdown and instability will inspire works from a generation of artists, like Kaws. The 10-canvas piece is colorful and humorous, yet communicates the fear of touching and spreading disease. The uncertainty of 2020 inspired “Urge,” which shows Chum with hands all over his face.

The crying “Separated” statue reflects our days spent in isolation, while “Tide” shows Companion struggling to stay afloat in a dark ocean. Kaws (Brian Donnelly) produced poignant new works for his What Party retrospective at Brooklyn Museum. (I added my long purple hair to the mix.) Pretty much anyone can recognize these Simpsons characters from the top of their heads alone. Kaws works with bright flat colors and simple shapes, which are unexpectedly resonant. He puts similar spins on The Smurfs, Peanuts, SpongeBob, Star Wars, Pinocchio, Astroboy, and Sesame Street. Fine art, mass culture, or a bit of both? Kaws decapitates The Simpsons, mixes up the XX-eyed heads and seats them back on their iconic couch. Kaws’ cute yet subversive characters are (not surprisingly) immensely popular in Japan and Hong Kong, where they feature in a variety of vinyl figures, fashion, and other collectibles. Here is Gone Companion Grey, carrying BFF Pink.

Kaws: What Party includes the artist’s works in all sizes and media, including life-sized sculptures, from the 1990s to today. Many spaces seemed set up for Instagram, reflecting the theme of blurred lines between art, consumption and appropriation. The Brooklyn Museum’s enormous galleries were perfect for showcasing Kaws’ bright and bulbous characters. On the right, he also created Chum (a spin on Michelin Man) and BFF (who looks like Sesame Street’s furry Elmo). His cute characters include Companion (left), a Mickey Mouse type figure with X-ed out eyes and skull-and-crossbones features. Reactivate it to view this content.Īlso known as Brian Donnelly, Kaws is a Brooklyn-based artist famous for his cheeky twists on cartoon icons and pop culture.

JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. (My off-the-shoulders dress is by For Love and Lemons. (Masks and timed entry tickets are required.) In the lobby, guests are greeted by a giant wood statue of two Companions, posing arm-in-arm. The Brooklyn Museum contains both ancient and modern works, and has rotating exhibits starring leading contemporary artists - like Kaws. (PS: You can find my sunglasses and other clothing from my wardrobe for sale, on my Depop shop.) Look for an enormous Beaux-Arts building built in 1895, which holds 1.5 million works of art. The Brooklyn Museum greeted me with a “Yo”! It’s easy to arrive by subway from Manhattan the museum is at the corner of Prospect Park, near the Botanic Gardens. Outfit credits: Botanic mini-dress by For Love and Lemons, shoes Anthony Wang, Read on for my review of Kaws: What Party, as well as a tour of the Fotografiska NY, which has become one of my favorite museums in Manhattan. In this 2021 exhibition, his newest figures have distraught poses and emotions, which reflect our era of disease and collapse. You may recognize Kaws’ skull-headed and X-eyed Companion: the cute character features prominently in his artwork and merchandise. One of my favorite memories: seeing the pop-perfect street art exhibit “Kaws: What Party” at Brooklyn Museum. I spent my time in New York outdoors and at museums (I’m playing it safe, and keeping masked and distanced). Travel is increasingly difficult to plan these days… Party on, Kaws! Very glad I took a leap and went to NYC last summer.

Kaws brooklyn museum