Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will present a major solo exhibition of work by KAWS. Opening in March 2025, KAWS: FAMILY will feature a broad mixture of the artist’s works – drawings, paintings, sculptures, altered advertisements, and product collaborations – that examine complex, familiar, and astonishingly heartfelt entryways into human emotions.
Since the late 1990s, KAWS has been creating a cast of iconic characters steeped in the American zeitgeist that populate his work. Each with their own distinct personality pulled in part from their creator, these characters have been a constant throughline in the artist’s career. The exhibition takes its title and thematic jumping-off point from the sculpture titled FAMILY (2021), which brings together four of the KAWS’ characters posed in the style of a family portrait. As witnessed throughout the show, the relationships between the figures can be complex, familiar, and astonishingly heartfelt entryways into human emotions.
“Part of the brilliance of KAWS’ work is that he pulls from the world we know,” says Alejo Benedetti, curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges. “His characters may have recognizable elements of icons from popular culture, but at their core, the human connection is always the strongest throughline. This exhibition is a chance to introduce this great artist to our audiences and invite them to connect with this family of characters in meaningful ways.”
Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), KAWS: FAMILY at Crystal Bridges is KAWS’ Arkansas solo exhibition debut. Expanding to fit Crystal Bridges’ exhibition gallery space, this presentation builds on the AGO’s original exhibition to create an experience that is uniquely suited for the museum.
In addition to launching new exhibitions next year, progress will continue on Crystal Bridges’ nearly 100,000-square-foot expansion that is set to open in 2026. In 2025, teams will begin to transform the guest experience, providing new ways to bring American stories to life and even giving visitors a glimpse into how exhibitions are created, and artworks are reinstalled throughout the museum. During this time, the museum will remain open, with new, refreshed installations unfolding in the galleries, on the trails, and across campus. The Crystal Bridges expansion project was originally announced in 2021, with construction beginning in 2022.
KAWS: FAMILY will be on view at Crystal Bridges from March 15, 2025, through July 28, 2025, and is curated by Julian Cox, AGO deputy director and chief curator.
KAWS: FAMILY is sponsored by General Mills, Hartman Family, and Paradigm Advisors.
