Stay Steady, 2015

KAWS is a multi-faceted New York-based artist and designer, ranked as a highly influential figure in the contemporary urban art scene. Starting his career in the ‘90s as a freelance animator by day and a graffiti artist by night, he is regarded as one of the most successful cross-over artists of our generation. KAWS has achieved street and gallery accreditation with his distinctive and sophisticated graphics. He is widely recognized for the repeated use of a hybrid cast of well-known cartoons, mascots, and human characters, resulting in the creation of a unique and universal visual language. Collaborating with global brands, KAWS challenges our conception of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art. His paintings, although abstract at first sight, are a deconstruction of appropriated pop culture characters into layers of abstract shapes.

Stay Steady portrays the figurative shape of the dearest beagle Snoopy, filled with multicolored and layered patterns. Camouflaged in a psychedelic paint war of flashy lines and shapes, his iconic Xs can always be found. The blend of his trademark with original pop culture animations is a hallmark of KAWS’s universe, arousing a broad appeal among collectors inside and outside the art world.