KAWS
KAWS and Chris Ware on Comics, Cartoons, and Willem de Kooning (artist talk)
The Art Institute of Chicago
Saturday, 15 August 2026, 2 – 3pm
KAWS will be in conversation with the artist Chris Ware and curator Mel Becker Solomon on the occasion of the exhibition Willem de Kooning Drawing at The Art Institute of Chicago. The discussion will explore the boundaries between so called ‘high’ and ‘low’ art forms, and the surprising ways de Kooning challenged tradition by channelling his love of cartoons and comics into irreverent interpretations of classic art historical subjects. The event will take place at 2pm on 15 August.
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KAWS
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS (solo show)
Space K, Seoul
23 July – 27 December 2026
KAWS’ first institutional exhibition in Korea, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, will be presented at Space K, Seoul. While friendship implies an actively chosen relationship, neighbours are brought into each other’s lives by chance. Through the lens of these familiar connections and social dynamics, KAWS reveals both the tenderness and the challenges of living alongside others.
KAWS et al.
Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg
13 June 2026 – ongoing
KAWS’s work is included in HARD EDGE(D), a group exhibition at Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg. Installed within the museum’s historic Haupteingang and Rittersaal, the exhibition explores the evolution of ‘hard edge’ painting over the last six decades, while contemporising the castle's grand and decorative spaces in new and surprising ways.
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KAWS et al.
Albertina Modern, Vienna
3 April – 27 September 2026
KAWS’ work is placed at the centre of the exhibition KAWS. ART & COMIX at Albertina Modern, Vienna. Shown in dialogue with selected contemporary artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ad Reinhardt and Joyce Pensato, the exhibition explores the interplay between comics, comic strips, cartoons, and fine art from the second half of the 20th century to the present.
KAWS
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
15 November 2025 – 3 May 2026
KAWS’ institutional solo show KAWS: FAMILY opens at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on 15 November 2025. Marking KAWS’ first major museum exhibition on the West Coast, KAWS: FAMILY traces the artist’s output over the past three decades. Bringing together drawing, painting, sculpture, advertising interventions and product collaborations, the exhibition takes its title and thematic jumping-off point from KAWS’ sculpture FAMILY, 2021, which unites the artist’s iconic characters, CHUM, COMPANION, and BFF, posed in the style of a family portrait. Borrowing from popular animated characters and cultural icons, KAWS’ characters recontextualise familiar imagery, creating a dialogue around cultural memory and contemporary life.
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