THE NEWS series
2017
acrylic on canvas
Nine equally sized circle shaped paintings each with a two foot or 50 cm diameter displayed in a grid of three rows of three comprise this work. They use a bright neon palette of pinks, blues, greens and yellows; these are also a typical colour palette in KAWS’s depictions of graphic or cartoon-inspired works. Kaws uses opposing colours to create contrasts.
These round canvases show layers of motifs used by KAWS. Each canvas is like a closeup of another work, in a way drawing focus to a particular aspect of something larger. They are dynamic and playful. Most of them have black outlined eyeballs that have x’d out pupils which take up half or more of the canvas. A third have eyelids and a couple have eyelashes. There is a tongue and digits of a hand and most have a line or wave of colour at the centre. They do not form an image when viewed all together, rather they present a detail that serves as the focal point for each canvas.
On each canvas KAWS plays with optical illusions, the 3D effect of which can become apparent for many people if looking at the works with a fixed gaze. This is accomplished through the subtle addition of shadows which are painted on. These shadows create a sense of depth and aspects of the painting appear to pop out from the canvas.
Exhibition label text:
This series of nine circular canvases, or tondos, highlight KAWS’s cartoon-inspired colour palette and polished painting skills. A “tondo”—a Renaissance term derived from the Italian “rotondo” or “round”—refers to a circular artwork that allows painters to emphasize the middle of an image by containing a scene within a frame. With each of these works, KAWS upends this notion by painting a zoomed-in, chaotic focal point of what appears to be a wider scene. Although the works appear abstract at first glance, a closer inspection reveals glimpses of X’d-out eyes, multihued teeth, gloved hands, and other identifiable features. It is up to us, the viewer, to imagine how these characters might extend into a different universe, a place beyond the limitations of the circular frame.