KAWS | GOTTA EAT

Galerie Perrotin, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2012

Colour: Please refer to the online catalogue for a more accurate approximation of colour. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Extremely close inspection reveals two minor handling marks to the extreme outer edge at the centre top right. Further very close inspection reveals a small spot of drying craquleur to the centre right extreme edge and a few minute flyspots towards the edge of the lower centre right in the beige pigment. Further extremely close inspection reveals three very light and unobtrusive rub marks to the pink tongue towards the centre left edge. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra violet light.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Rendered in richly saturated colours with boldly defined forms, GOTTA EAT (2011) exemplifies KAWS’s investigations into the legacy of Pop culture. Presented across a circular canvas, the painting depicts a humorous cartoon face, with large bulging eyes and colourful teeth, from between which lolls a fuchsia pink tongue. Epitomising the American artist and designer’s playful dynamism and intriguing aesthetic, the painting is marked with KAWS’s signature ‘X’ eyes, a sinister yet fascinating hallmark of his practice which poignantly comments on our image-saturated and consumer-driven world. The product of a society overwhelmed by an endless abundance of images, posters, cartoons and adverts, KAWS’s paintings hold a mirror up to our surroundings, compelling his viewers to reflect upon the world they live in. As curator Michael Auping attests, “KAWS is not just referring to pop culture, he is making it” (Michael Auping, ‘America’s Cartoon Mind’ in: Exh. Cat., Fort Worth, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Where the End Starts, 2017, p. 63). KAWS, who worked as an animator for Disney before establishing his artistic practice, cites mainstream cartoons as a central influence, explaining that he “found it weird how infused a cartoon could become in people’s lives; the impact it could have, compared to regular politics” (KAWS cited in: Murray Healy, ‘Graffiti Artist Turned Gallery Artist Turned Art Toy Maker: KAWS’, Pop, February 2007, pp. 260-65). Similar to animated cartoon imagery, KAWS deftly removes all trace of his hand, instead executing clean lines and saturated colours with the exacting precision of commercial fabrication. This manner of execution stems from KAWS’s years as a graffiti artist, when he would modify billboards and other advertisements with such unerring skill that the additions would seamlessly integrate into the original imagery.

Building on the Pop legacy of such artists as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg, KAWS has risen to acclaim in recent years for his shrewd examination of mainstream visual culture. Infiltrating and appropriating the realms of the entertainment industry, his paintings and sculptures examine the psychology of contemporary society through an intriguing cast of cartoon characters that, in their iconic familiarity and suggestion of mass-production, blur the boundary between the commercial and the vanguard of contemporary art. Playfully indicative of our society’s insatiable consumerist hunger, GOTTA EAT is quintessential KAWS.