KAWS's 'The Message' Installation at Palazzo Strozzi References Fra Angelico's Annunciation

KAWS (Brian Donnelly) has unveiled 'The Message,' a site-specific installation in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, on view until January 25, 2026. The work consists of two 6-meter-tall wooden sculptures of the artist's iconic characters, one standing and one kneeling, facing each other while holding smartphones. The piece reimagines the Annunciation for the 21st century, with the phone serving as a conduit between the earthly and the sacred. Commissioned by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Fondazione Hilary Markus Recordati, the installation is part of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art program aimed at engaging younger audiences. It dialogues with the concurrent exhibition on Fra Angelico on the piano nobile. KAWS previously engaged with Italian sacred art in 2019 with 'GONE,' inspired by Michelangelo's Pietà. The installation has sparked controversy: Il Foglio criticized it as 'parmesan on spaghetti with clams' and a 'tourist trap.' The work is the third in a series of contemporary interventions in Florence's public spaces that explore sacrality, following Mimmo Paladino's cross in front of Santa Croce and Thomas J. Price's piece in Piazza della Signoria.