TTC Beard
Australian KAWS fans take note. As part of the upcoming Exhibition KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness at National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne, it looks like there will be a new release as part of the exhibition too. Teased by KAWS and NGV earlier today, you can check out the tease below…
At this stage, we don’t know any additional information other than the KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness exhibition opens on 20th September, so we would expect the release to tie in with this date. Below you will see the image that KAWS shared last week and I think it is safe to assume that the release at NGV will be this but in all black (although other colourways may be available too). You can sign up to the NGV email list HERE to be updated with more information, or you can keep your eye on the TTC website or Mobile App for more details as we get them. It sounds like there will also be an accompanying publication, at the exhibition, which features specially commissioned texts, and documents the breadth of KAWS’s artistic and design practice. Uniqlo will also be launching the KAWS Summer collection in Australia too. Available at the opening of the Exhibition.
The exhibition title KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness foregrounds the emotional content of the artist’s work. Through his works KAWS celebrates generosity, support for others and the deep need we have for companionship. KAWS represents someone who is very much of our time in terms of working across contexts and in hybrid and collaborative ways, and his work presents an antidote or rejoinder to the increasingly toxic nature of public discourse and social media, and division within and across societies. He reminds us we need one another and that life should be lived as compassionately as possible to combat this ‘Age of Loneliness’, in the face of fear and hatred.
KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness is a major contribution to the growing international reputation of this contemporary artist. It follows KAWS’s recent solo presentations at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2016), the Yuz Museum Shanghai and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2017) and the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation (2019). This exhibition introduces audiences to the full range of KAWS’s artistic output, including a newly commissioned monumental sculpture (his largest bronze sculpture to date), paintings reworking pop-culture figures and an impressive collection of human-scale sculptural figures. KAWS’s collaborations with other artists and major brands and his own products will also be explored.
As part of KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, KAWS has created a playful exhibition for children that illuminates the artist’s methods of working and creative approaches to imagery sourced from popular culture, toy production and collectables. The exhibition design features references to KAWS’s character BFF, including his trademark criss-cross eyes and plush royal blue fur.
Details & images from the NGV website
