Kaws : Last Leap (2009)

The Last Leap is a reworking of a central character from the masterpierce The Long Way Home exhibited at Honor Fraser gallery. A nocturnal background and a neon blue bendy underlines an enigmatic smiling creature. The main focus of the painting is the mouth, which vivid carnation seems to invite  the viewer to jump into a word of wonderland. The Last Leap was part of Pay the Debt to Nature exhibition, shown at galerie Perrotin Paris in 2010.

Kaws black book drawing

Kaws black book drawing. Circa 1994. A superb exemple of Kaws graffiti technic, which led him to become one of the street art kings. The letters seem to smile and to dance! Provenance : Dirtypilot.com

Kaws, the new Murakami?

Since his aclaimed exhibitions at galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Gering and Lopez and Honor Fraser gallery, Kaws has been compared to the most famous pop artists, including Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami.

Suzan Hancock,  (whose part of her art collection is shown at  "I Can't Feel My Face",  an exhibition held at Royal T , in Los Angeles), thinks that Kaws has recycled western pop icons in the same way as Murakami did with the japanese pop culture.

Moreover Takashi Murakami collects Kaws artworks and has meet the american artist on several occasions. A collaboration between them two would create a tremendous hype!

Depuis que ses expositions personnelles à la galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, puis Gering & Lopez et Honor Fraser ont été encensées,  Kaws a été comparé aux plus grands noms de l'art contemporain, à Jeff Koons et Takashi Murakami en particulier.

Suzan Hancock (dont une partie de la collection est montrée à l'exposition I Can't Feel My Face chez Royal T à Los Angeles), estime que Kaws recycle les icônes de la culture populaire occidentale comme Murakami l'a fait avec la culture pop japonaise.

En tous cas, Murakami est un fan de Kaws, il collectionne son travail et l'a rencontré plusieurs fois. A quand une collaboration?

KAWS @ V1 Gallery (Copenhagen)

Kaws has shown a new painting at the exhibition The New Yorkers, at gallery V1 in Copenhagen.

The exhibition is curated by Todd James (Reas) and includes works by Futura, Jose Parla, Barbara Kruger, Eric Parker and more...

Kaws painting is called Sandie, its a painting of Spongebob best friend!

Kaws Kurfs

Kaws is famous for kidnaping icons of pop cultures. Kurfs are his own version of the smurf, with xx eyes and crossbones. Most of the Kurfs large paintings have been commissioned by Pharrell Williams. The 2009 exhibition at Honor Fraser gallery displayed for the first time to the public the Kurfs paintings. It had a full room full of Kurfs, including a serie of product paintings (paintings under plastic packaging, like a supermarket product).

Kaws est célèbre pour kidnapper des icones de la culture pop. Les Kurfs sont sa propre version des Sctroumpf (Smurfs) avec les yeux en XX et les oreilles-ossements. La plupart des peintures de Kurf ont été commandées par Pharrell Williams. L'exposition de 2009 à la galerie Honor Fraser présentait pour la première fois les Kurfs au public. Une salle entière leur était consacrée, avec notamment une série de product paintings (peintures présentées sous blister, comme des produits de supermarché).

Kaws's Skully / Le skully de Kaws

  Kaws started to painted skullies in the streets of New York in the late 90's, easily recognisable with with xx eyes and crossbones. He then added it to the ad' dispurptions and then use it on the body of most of his sculptures (Chum, Accomplice, Companion). At the center of his work, the skully is Kaws's visual signature.

Kaws a commencé à peindre des Skullies dans les rues de New York à la fin des années 90, facilement identifiables avec leurs yeux en xx et leurs ossements formant des oreilles (crossbones). Il les a ensuite utilisé pour les add' disruptions, puis posé sur le corps de ses principales sculptures (Chum, Accomplice, Companion). Pièce centrale de travail de Kaws, le skully est sa signature visuelle.

Kaws's Companion (1999) / Le Companion de Kaws (1999)

Kaws's Companion has a Mickey body, and a skully head (see infra). The 99 version has skinnyand curvy  legs. It was produced in 3 colors of 500 each.  The 2004 version (5 Years Later)  has a thicker and straighter body.

Le Companion a le corps de Mickey, et la tete du Skully (voir infra). La version de 99 présente un corps avec des jambes très maigres et arquées. Elle a été produite en 3 couleurs, fabriquée à 500 exemplaires chacune. La version de 2004 (5 Years Later, ou 5YL) a un corps qui s'est raidi et épaissi.