Kaws
American artist and art collector (born 1974)
Brian Donnelly (born November 4, 1974), known professionally as KAWS, is an American artist and designer whose work centers on repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs, some dating back to the beginning of his career in the 1990s. He initially painted these figures in 2D and later realized in 3D. Some of his characters are his own creations while others are reworked versions of existing icons.
KAWS' sculptures range in size from a few inches to ten meters tall, and are made from various materials including fiberglass, aluminum, wood, bronze, gold and a steel pontoon inflatable raft.
KAWS has been compared to Andy Warhol for his cross-market appeal and ability to blur lines between commercial and fine art. His work is exhibited in galleries and museums, held in the permanent collections of public institutions, and avidly collected by individuals including music producer Swizz Beatz, youtuber PewDiePie, rappers Pharrell Williams, Kid Cudi, and members of South Korean group BTS. Several books have been published illustrating his work.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, KAWS divides his practice between sculptures, acrylic paintings on canvas, and screen prints alongside commercial collaboration, that span limited-edition toys, clothing, skateboard decks, and other products. He is represented by Skarstedt Gallery, New York.
Early life and education
Donnelly was born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he attended St. Anthony High School. As a teenager, Donnelly created the "KAWS" name (based on the way the letters looked—the word, in fact, has no meaning), which he painted on the roof of an area building so that he could see it outside while attending class in high school.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kaws” is american artist and art collector (born 1974). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kaws, American and artist, not as a finished interpretation.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3194367. VIAF identifies the subject as 160122428. The Library of Congress control number is no2010191257. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kaws” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.