From the rooftops of Jersey City and ancient Indonesian temples, to the literal edges of the stratosphere, KAWS is no stranger to art in unexpected places. The Brooklyn-based artist, known for his cartoonish XX-eyed characters, first made waves in the ‘90s graffiti scene and has since become a defining force in contemporary art and beyond, braiding elements of music and fashion into his extensive visual universe.
For FAMILY, the artist’s latest exhibition at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, his crew of cartoonish characters have arrived in the lesser-known art hub of Bentonville, Arkansas. Originally staged at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO,) the show brings together a sweeping collection of paintings, sculptures, installations, collaborations and more, offering an kaleidoscopic look back at KAWS’ practice over the last several decades.
While, art may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Arkansas, the museum, and its roster of featured heavyweights, hope to change that – think Annie Leibovitz, Yayoi Kusama and James Turrell. We sat down with Alejo Benedetti, Crystal Bridge’s Curator of Contemporary Art, to discuss the Ozark art moment, the power of pop culture and the process of bringing FAMILY to life. Read on for more curatorial insights and check out the museum’s website for more information on the show.
“What’s amazing is the way that people connect to these characters, in sort of alarmingly emotional ways.”
How did this show come together?
Our director happened to be in Toronto, saw the show at AGO and thought it was great. It made so much sense to do a project with KAWS here. For a while, the time hadn’t been right, but then this show happened and it felt like the perfect opportunity for us to jump in. It’s funny how those things happen.
For those who aren’t already familiar, what is the art scene in Bentonville like?
The local art scene here is very alive and active. There’s always been art in the Ozarks and with the museum opening in 2011, we’re able to continue to bring art to the people that live in this region, and frankly, folks that come from all over the world to see it, just in a different way.
For KAWS, scale really lends itself to the way that the work resonates with the audience, and FAMILY has only grown since its debut at AGO. Can you describe the process of translating the show to fit a bigger gallery space?
As a curator, I think about space a lot: what the visitor journey is going to be like when they’re moving through. Something that is unique about this gallery is that it does meander and really lends itself to shows that feel like they have a narrative that pulls you through. There’s compression and expansion that continues to happen throughout, so with KAWS, whose work so frequently plays with scale, sometimes it can feel very small and intimate, and at other times you want to be sort of floored by just how enormous it is.
“…when he engages with popular culture, he’s not lost – he’s not swallowed up by that.”
Were there any particular sections or moments that were in, in curating this particularly gratifying or challenging?
For me, a really special moment is the trio of works, “Lost Time,” “Alone Again” and “Far Far Down” – the big and colorful ones that dot that wall. I really have a sweet spot for when he dips into abstraction in a more apparent way and I think those three examples are just really stellar works to look at and it was special to get to have those incorporated in the Man’s Best Friend section.
The show features a spectrum of works across artistic mediums in addition a handful of past collaborations, like J-Hope album artwork, the MTV Moonman and sneakers from the artist’s collection with sacai. How do you envision KAWS’ work in the greater cultural landscape?
It is incredible that an artist is able to have such an established identity across his practice that when he engages with popular culture, he’s not lost – he’s not swallowed up by that. What he creates feels additive and respectful of the thing he’s collaborating with.
What do you hope people will take away from the show?
What’s amazing is the way that people connect to these characters, in sort of alarmingly emotional ways. BFF is not a person, and yet we can look at it and feel a very human connection to it. When we see BFF and COMPANION together, we understand that there is an interaction that feels familiar.
A really successful trip through this exhibition would be for folks to come to the museum, see the show and walk away with that recognition and connection, especially if they haven’t seen his work in person – it’s such a different experience.
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