KAWS's Market Strategy and SFMOMA Survey Reveal Artist's Diversified Approach

The KAWS exhibition, featuring the artist known as Brian Donnelly, born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1974, is currently hosted at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His highest auction sales occurred in 2019, totaling $112.9 million, highlighted by a record $14.7 million for The Kaws Album at Sotheby's, but dropped to $7.72 million last year. To support the museum, KAWS created 1,000 SFMOMA memberships priced at $300 each, contributing to an attendance of 106,000 by mid-March. Curatorial associate Daryl McCurdy mentioned that this exhibition followed Ruth Asawa's retrospective. KAWS is now working with Skarstedt, with starting prices in the primary market at $180,000, and his art addresses themes of family separation, alongside collaborations with brands like Nike and Uniqlo.