Brace yourselves for sold-out tickets and hyped-up merch—KAWS is heading to the Bronx, with the New York Botanical Garden announcing a transformation of its 250-acre landscape in 2027.
Initial details of the takeover are slight, but it isn’t hard to imagine how KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, might work his giant sculptures into the garden. Picture Companion floating on a pond, BFF lurking inside the Victorian-era glasshouse, or Chum lounging on an open lawn. The unnamed exhibition promises to be big, loud, and draw legions of fans devoted to the KAWS universe to the Bronx.
In terms of scale and target audience, the KAWS takeover picks up on 2021’s “Cosmic Infinity,” which saw the star Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama arrange her mirrored orbs, polka dot characters, and hypnotic yellow-and-black pumpkins throughout the botanical garden. The six-month show drew around 845,000 visitors, making it one of the best-attended in NYBG’s history.
Yayoi Kusama, (2020) at the New York Botanical Garden. Collection of the artist. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
“Both iconic and iconoclastic, KAWS takes over NYBG with bold interventions that put the artist’s work front and center against the living canvas of the Garden, creating unexpected moments for long-time fans and new viewers alike,” NYBG said in a statement. “Experience KAWS’s boundary-defying work within the beauty and complexity of the natural world.”
The announcement coincides with the recent opening of NYBG’s “Van Gogh’s Flowers,” which recreates the natural world that inspired the Dutch painter through the arrangement of nearly 20,000 plants, the vast majority grown in onsite greenhouses. Naturally, sunflowers abound, with NYBG displaying 32 types (one is named Vincent’s Choice) alongside installation sculptures from French artist Cyril Lancelin. The botanical garden noted receiving “record-breaking visitor numbers” during its inaugural weekend in late May.
KAWS, Small Lie (2013). Photo: courtesy KAWS.
KAWS, who has capably straddled the art and commercial realms, remains a polarizing art-world figure. A graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, the artist made a name for himself in the city’s graffiti scene, marking up advertisements with cartoon graphics and characters, before going on to sell figurines, clothing, and assorted collectibles. Collaborations with Nike, Bape, and Comme des Garçons duly followed.
KAWS was feted with a landmark exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2021, before showing at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, where his work was placed in dialogue with that of the Pop icon. The traveling show, “KAWS: Family,” is currently on view at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and will be making a stop at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from November.
The Perennial Garden and the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden. Photo courtesy of New York Botanical Garden.
In addition to the KAWS exhibition, NYBG has announced a collaboration with Mr. Flower Fantastic, a multidisciplinary artist known for his floral sculptures. In 2026, the New York-based artist will use orchids to transform the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into what NYBG calls “a tribute to the spirit, style, and skyline of our beloved metropolis.”
Mr. Flower Fantastic, who remains anonymous and is typically covered with protective gloves and a mask, is known for using flowers to channel pop culture. He has collaborated with Louis Vuitton, created a 12-foot Kobe Bryant jersey, and provided a flower installation for Spike Lee’s “Creative Sources” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
