KAWS: THERAPY Published by Holzwarth Publications.
Text by Cornelius Tittel. A svelte record of a fresh KAWS project, in which his signature hybrid cartoon characters articulate complex human emotions in a “group therapy” setting In THERAPY, KAWS’ (born 1974) iconic hybrid cartoon characters populate a series of paintings around one larger-than-life, stainless steel sculpture, SPACE. Completed in 2023, the sculpture presents an iteration of KAWS’ COMPANION, the original three-dimensional character first created by the artist as a small vinyl toy in 1999. Here, COMPANION is depicted as a towering space explorer, clad in an astronaut suit, wearing an oxygen tank on its back and covering its eyes with gloved hands, suggesting a state of resignation or perhaps denial. In his new body of paintings, KAWS depicts variations of his popular CHUM character, developed in the late 1990s. Using a paint-splatter technique recalling the immediacy of spray paint, KAWS imbues his characters with a shimmering, transcendent quality, while painted shadows lend them a near-sculptural volume. At once humorous and empathetic, they serve as prime examples of KAWS’ exploration of complex emotions like fear, loneliness, vulnerability and love. Sculptural yet flattened, depersonalized yet distinctly human, his subjects collapse conventional distinctions, encouraging viewers to identify, empathize and find common ground.
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