Lot  070 Ravenel Autumn Auction 2021 Taipei

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2021 Taipei

Untitled

KAWS (Brian Donnelly) (American, 1974)

2012

Acrylic on canvas

Diameter 50.8 cm

Estimate

TWD 2,800,000-4,200,000

HKD 782,000-1,173,000

USD 100,500-150,800

CNY 653,000-979,000

Sold Price


Signature

Signed reverse KAWS.. and dated 12

PROVENANCE:
Phillips, New York, September 24, 2019, lot 69
Acquired from the above by the present owner

+ OVERVIEW

Born in New Jersey, U.S.A., the real name of KAWS is Brian Donnelly. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, he worked as an animator for Disney. Because he liked the look of the four letters "KAWS" together, he began to paint graffiti of "KAWS" everywhere in the city, which turned into his artistic pseudonym. Unlike traditional mainstream artists, the aesthetics of KAWS began with and belong to the streets with its underground and anti-cultural characteristics. KAWS has since become a legendary artist that roams between the realms of art, public culture, and the commercial world. Between 2010 and 2014, KAWS began experimenting with a series of abstract paintings of cartoon images on canvas.

These acrylic paintings, which depicted various classic cartoon figures including the Simpsons, the Smurfs, and SpongeBob SquarePants, eventually became some of the most soughtafter works in the auction market. After reformulation by KAWS, the figures take on anxious and distorted facial features of cartoon characters and distinctive "XX" eyes. The images are further abstracted and fragmented to resemble a pattern of camouflage.

The work Untitled is exactly the work representative of this period. In particular, KAWS painted with an unconventional palette from the impact of high-intensity contrast to a monochromatic fluorescent color, obscuring the omnipresent characters with primary colors and dark shades which emphasize the volume and varied surfaces of the restoration geometry game. These works were featured in the Hold The Line exhibition at the Honor Fraser Gallery in Los Angeles in 2011, and the KAWS: Down Time exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

During the period when KAWSBOB was a recurring theme of his canvas works, KAWS used the round shape as the imagery unifying format and double-unifying style. During the paintings completed during the Untitled period, KAWS again subverted the original image of SpongeBob SquarePants, which seemed to emerge in the zero gravity outcome after an explosion of cartoons. When we attempt to understand

the character, the "XX" eyes are drawn to prohibit emotional exchanges. The theme seems cute with a sense of humor, while maintaining the usual coolness of feelings. It seems to refuse communication regardless of fear or greed. The passive black wooden boards, bricks, or the colorful tentacles are intertwined with the hints of cartoon characters, boldly subverting the ordinary perspective.

The paintings of KAWS reveal a sense of self-control and emotional detachment. The round edges of the 2D plane of the work resonate with cartoonized facial features. The unexpected red, purplish blue, lake blue, and light blue are layered together and paired with chunky rectangular teeth proportionally enlarged, and painted in a simple manner. The hard curved edges are zoomed and cropped, turnin the face portion as a type of color field. The circular painting featured image fragments of the body parts of cartoon characters, building up to a vibrant composition and effect for the overall painting. The vision is fixed on the body of the KAWSBOB character created by KAWS, mystifying the meaning of personalization that even carries a sense of abstract magnificence.
Related Info

Select: Modern & Contemporary Art

Ravenel Autumn Auction 2021 Taipei

Saturday, December 4, 2021, 3:30pm