The contemporary artist KAWS, who stands at the top of the trending art, is also a collector who loves artworks! KAWS, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, collected his first artwork in his mid-twenties, it`s a housefly drawn by Raymond Pettibon. In the upper left corner has the letter "SWAK" written by the artist, which is the abbreviation of "Sealed With A Kiss". Brian Donnelly spells the letters backward and used the name as an artist.
KAWS has a soft spot for graffiti. He had already kept his eye on Chinese-American artist Martin Wong during the time he was obscure and couldn't afford to buy too expensive artworks. Martin Wong is not only an artist known to the public as who is known for drawing in social realism of New York in 1980s but also an amateur historian and a collector of graffiti in early New York, collected artists include Daze (Chris Ellis), Lee Quiñones, Dondi ( Donald White), Rammellzee and others. One of Martin Wong's work hangs in KAWS's house in Brooklyn.
In 2001, KAWS became famous and not forget to dig new artist. He visited the “Eye Infection” exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and very interested in the works of the five artists Mike Kelley, Robert Crumb, Jim Nutt, Peter Saul and H. C. Westermann, and took several years to collect the works of these artists.
KAWS first attracted by H. C. Westermann's drawings and watercolors and collected for 10 years, then moved to collect his sculptures. Through KAWS's passionate collection, H. C. Westermann has gradually become popular in the art world, and many exhibitions have been held in recent years, such as the exhibition at Venus Over Manhattan gallery in New York in 2016; the exhibition at the Prada Foundation in Milan in late 2017; and the exhibition at the Reina Sofía in Madrid earlier this year. KAWS also collects more than 50 pieces of Peter Saul's work. KAWS's house in Brooklyn is also hanging Peter Saul's work "Double De Kooning Duck,"(1979) which mimics the abstract expressionist master De Kooning's work "Woman", and change style of painting into a cartoon, and the woman into a Donald Duck. KAWS bought this work at Sotheby's for $272,500, breaking Peter Saul's previous auction record.
KAWS mainly collects artworks from the 50s and 80s, such as works by David Wojnarowicz and Carolee Schneemann, but also collects works by his friends Barry McGee and Eric Parker. In addition, he unexpectedly knew Carolee Schneemann when he went to Germany to visited the retrospective of Peter Saul. KAWS was shocked when saw Carolee Schneemann's work. Those abstract paintings could not be categorized. A work by Carolee Schneemann in 1957 is hung in the KAWS`s bedroom. Besides, Dana Schutz, Mathew Cerletty, Sue Williams, Math Bass, Nicole Eisenman, and Joyce Pensato are all on the KAWS`s list of the collected.
Today's KAWS, just collecting artworks can affect the entire art world, whether he is through the auction company to buy artworks or social network public collection. You can follow KAWS's Instagram to see what artwork he collects.
Reference:
Art News/ KAWS & Effect: As His Own Fame Grows, Brian Donnelly Avidly Collects Art
Figure 1：Peter Saul, Double De Kooning Duck, 1979 ©Peter Saul
Figure 2 left top：Robin F. Williams, Good Sport, 2019 Acrylic and oil on canvas ©Robin F. Williams
Figure 2 right top：Erik Paker, new mood, Acrylic, collage on canvas 2018 ©Erik Paker
Figure 2 left bottom：Erik Paker, Vanity Vista, Acrylic on canvas 2018 ©Erik Paker
Figure 2 right bottom：Joyce Pensato, Holy Blackout Batman, 2015. Courtesy the artist and Petzel New York.
