Following the popular KAWS installation at 30th Street Station this past spring, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts brings KAWS back to Philadelphia with KAWS @ PAFA, on view beginning October 12.
KAWS @ PAFA features both indoor and outdoor components.
A new nine-foot KAWS sculpture, titled BORN TO BEND, will be installed on the pedestal above the front entrance of PAFA's Historic Landmark Building.Additionally, more than seventy KAWS paintings and sculptures (many of them created for this exhibition) will be installed inside the galleries of the Historic Landmark Building, providing an intriguing link between PAFA's 19th century American art collection and KAWS' contemporary pieces.
Brooklyn-based, KAWS is a world-renowned artist who exhibits in museums and galleries internationally. KAWS' art stands within the historical continuum that began with Pop Art, straddling the line between fine art and global commerce. From his sixteen-foot sculpture COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH) to his recent thrity-two--foot wooden sculpture SMALL LIE, KAWS' artworks are immediately recognizable as he transforms iconic pop culture characters into thought-provoking works of art. KAWS' work possesses a sophisticated humor while utilizing a refined graphic language that revitalizes figuration with big, bold gestures and keen, playful intricacy. By producing fine art via thoughtful interplay with consumer products and collaborations with global brands, KAWS moves beyond the sphere of the exclusive art market to occupy a more complex, global market. KAWS was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts.