“At over 6m high and weighing more than 4,114kg, it is truly a new Singapore landmark, our art collection’s flagship, and the avatar of the Duxton community.”
Who Is KAWS?
KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) is a New York-based artist who first made a name as a graffiti artist in his teenage years and today is a world-renowned, award-winning artist who exhibits in museums and galleries internationally.
KAWS was born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey and after a stint as a freelance animator he shifted to street art, subverting images on bus shelters and billboards. His notoriety grew, and in the late 1990s, KAWS began to design and produce limited edition vinyl toys that continue to be a global hit.
His acrylic paintings and giant sculptures are loved worldwide, and are featured in the collections of galleries including National Gallery of Victoria, the High Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Qatar Museums, and he has staged exhibitions from Paris to London, Shanghai and Tokyo.
The prolific artist has collaborated on collections with Dior, A Bathing Ape, Undercover, sacai, Nike, Vans, The North Face, and Comme des Garcons.
KAWS Holiday featured at Marina Bay in Singapore in 2021 and has recently journeyed to the Prambanan Temples of Indonesia. KAWS also participated in the 10th Annual Singapore Art Week at the National Gallery of Singapore in 2022, and the Light to Night festival.
An Inspired Collaboration
The KAWS piece is part of an exclusive collaboration between Mondrian Singapore Duxton and The Artling, Singapore’s premier art collection curators and tastemakers. A partnership more than two years in the making has seen a permanent collection designed in and around the hotel from the ground up, showcasing the cream of international and local talent and transcending mediums and practices.
The Artling’s founder and creative driving forces, Talenia Phua Gajardo and Kim Tay, said they were thrilled to see the KAWS piece unveiled and are very proud of the entire collection.
