FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 11, 2016  

Fort Worth, TX

 

Kendal Smith Lake
Manager of Communications
817.840.2167
www.themodern.org
 
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Presents
 
KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS
October 20, 2016-January 22, 2017
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents a major survey exhibition of the work of Brooklyn-based artist KAWS (American, born 1974), on view in Fort Worth, Texas, October 20, 2016, through January 22, 2017, and traveling to the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, China, March 10 through July 31, 2017. Organized by the Modern's curator Andrea Karnes in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibition KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS and the accompanying catalogue explore the breadth of the artist's career from the 1990s to the present, revealing critical aspects of his formal, conceptual, and collaborative developments. The exhibition includes approximately 100 works, with key examples of KAWS's paintings, drawings, large-scale sculpture, graffiti, and products such as toys and apparel.

 

Over the last two decades KAWS has built a successful career with work that consistently shows his formal agility as an artist, as well as his underlying wit, irreverence, and affection for our times. By straddling the normally separate divides between art and design, he holds an atypical position, but not without art historical precedent, between the commercial and fine art worlds. Like artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring before him, KAWS is one of the most influential artists of his generation, and his imagery is highly sought-after by his fans outside of the art world, making him a pop culture sensation.

 

Working within the tradition of Pop art, KAWS draws inspiration from art history and the animated cartoons he grew up watching. He is best known for his cast of characters with X's for eyes and skulls and crossbones for heads that convey universally understood aspects of human nature. Executed in a clean, graphic, and energetic style, his work is instantly recognizable. Though KAWS has invented many characters, his three most iconic figures are COMPANION, inspired by Mickey Mouse; CHUM, a derivative of the Michelin Man; and ACCOMPLICE, an adorable bunny that resembles a plush toy with long ears.

 

KAWS explains, "COMPANION is a figure in the world now, and it's not all great out there. He deals with life the way everyone does. Even though I use a comic language, my figures are not always reflecting the idealistic cartoon view that I grew up on, where everything has a happy ending. COMPANION is more real in dealing with contemporary human circumstances. He reflects attitudes we all have. I think when I'm making work it also often mirrors what's going on with me at that time. Things change -- sometimes it's tense in the studio, other times things are happy. I want to understand the world I'm in and, for me, making and seeing art is a way to do that."

 

Karnes comments, "KAWS's toys and larger-than-life sculpture of hybrid cartoon/human figures are the strongest examples of his exploration of humanity. They reflect emotions and situations we can all empathize with in presentations that are balanced with humor, heartening in their cartoon aesthetic."

 

Blurring lines between high and low art and fashion, and selling on all levels of the market, the artist has been wildly successful and enthusiastically collected by his massive fan base, which includes a large faction of youth around the world (from the Japanese otaku culture to China, Latin America, and the United States), as well as significant art collectors, also on a global scale. KAWS's work is exhibited in prestigious institutions and collected by important museums internationally.

 

In 2011, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth featured KAWS's work in a small-scale solo exhibition as part of the FOCUS series. From that exhibition, KAWS's painting WHERE THE END STARTS, 2011, was acquired for the museum's permanent collection. In 2012, his work returned to the Modern when his much-loved COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, was installed outside the museum's main entrance. Now five years after KAWS's work debuted at the Modern, he is back on a grand scale with this twenty-year survey exhibition, with WHERE THE END STARTS occupying the entire first-level galleries, with some sculpture situated on the museum grounds.

 

About the Catalogue

A fully illustrated, color catalogue explores the artist's prolific career in depth. This extensive hardcover monograph, which includes contributions from Andrea Karnes, Michael Auping, Dieter Buchhart, and Pharrell Williams, reveals critical aspects of KAWS's formal and conceptual development over the past twenty years, as his career has shifted from graffiti to fine art and collaborations with designers and brands such as Comme des Garçons, SUPREME, Nigo (A Bathing Ape), and Nike. The book will feature photographs of the exhibition installed at the Modern and will be published in December.

 

In the Modern Shop

The Modern Shop offers the catalogue KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS, available in December. To reserve a copy, send an e-mail to modernshop@themodern.org. A variety of official KAWS merchandise is being developed, with more detailed information coming soon. Merchandise will be available in-store and online.

 

  

For a checklist and high-resolution images, please e-mail the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, info@themodern.org.

LOCATION

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Telephone 817.738.9215
Toll-Free 1.866.824.5566
Fax 817.735.1161 
www.themodern.org
 
Museum Gallery Hours
Tue 10 am-7 pm (Sep-Nov, Feb-Apr, Jun-Jul)
Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm
Fri 10 am-8 pm
 
General Admission Prices (includes special exhibitions)
$4 for students with ID and seniors (60+)
$10 for adults (13+)
Free for children 12 and under
Free for Modern members
Free every Sunday and half-price every Wednesday.
 
CAFÉ MODERN
Lunch
Tue-Fri 11 am-2:30 pm
Brunch
Sat-Sun 10 am-3 pm
Dinner
Fri 5 pm-8:30 pm
Coffee, snacks, and dessert 10 am-4:30 pm

 
The Museum is closed Mondays and holidays, including New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.   

 

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