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Upcoming Exhibition KAWS + Warhol

May 18, 2024–January 20, 2025

The left image is of Andy Warhol's painting entitled Ambulance Disaster (1964-65) depicting a bloodied man laying halfway out of a crashed Ambulance's side window. The image on the right is a sculpture entitled Companion 2020 (2020) by KAWS. The sculpture is of a cartoon like figure laying face down, appearing exhausted and defeated.

Left:
Andy Warhol, Ambulance Disaster, 1964-65, Contribution Dia Center for the Arts, ©The Andy Warhol Foundation, Inc.

Right:
KAWS, COMPANION 2020, 2020, © KAWS

Logo for KAWS + Warhpol

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, The Warhol presents KAWS + Warhol, the first exhibition to examine the dark themes present in the work of both artists. From skulls to car crashes, both artists deploy their signature bright colors and pop culture references while also presenting the lurid spectacle of death. The dark undercurrents in the work of KAWS and Warhol are magnified and brought into plain sight by presenting the two artists together for the first time.

KAWS will also respond to Warhol’s embrace of commercialism by presenting a new series of paintings, sculptures, and installations related to his recent commission with General Mills which inserted his signature characters into the packaging for some of America’s most loved cereal boxes including Reese’s Puffs, Count Chocula, and Boo-Berry. The cereal works will be juxtaposed with Warhol’s iconic Brillo Boxes and his lesser-known series of paintings for children.

In response to The Warhol’s new initiative The Pop District, KAWS will also present a monumental wooden sculpture in Pop Park, directly across from the museum and visible from its lobby.