Alejo Benedetti, a smiling man with a curled mustache, wearing a plaid blazer over a black shirt, standing in front of a blurred architectural background.” width=”970″ height=”647″ data-caption=’Curator Alejo Benedetti led the Crystal Bridges iteration of “KAWS: FAMILY,” which expands on the original Toronto exhibition. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>Photo by Iron Lotus Creative / Stephen Ironside, courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art</span>’>
Last month, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened “KAWS: FAMILY,” an ambitious survey that brings together the popular artist’s diverse bodies of work, offering the fullest picture of his practice to date. “KAWS: FAMILY” came to Crystal Bridges from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto—where the idea to group the works by theme originated, granting “a sense of the artist’s breadth“—but the show has a unique feel in a rural setting. I stepped out of my Uber in the Ozarks, entered the museum and found myself back home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a neighborhood that now feels inextricable from the KAWS aesthetic. We spoke with Alejo Benedetti, who curated the Crystal Bridges iteration, to discuss the exhibition.
Let’s kick off by talking about the origins of the show, starting in Canada and then expanding here. What were the gaps in the Canadian show, and where did you see opportunities to expand?
Sure. I want to start by saying the exhibition at the AGO in Toronto was great, and that’s why we were so excited to take it. They did such a good job centering the exhibition around this idea of family, which was a perfect jumping-off point. Knowing that our space is so different, we had more space to dedicate, about 4,000 square feet. But also, our space snakes through a bit, which offered opportunities to group things differently and lean into different sections. For example, the “Man’s Best Friend” section in Toronto was smaller—it was one epic work, but here we had a chance to expand. Also, when I went to the artist’s studio and brainstormed with him, we talked about what makes sense for this show and how to expand it in different directions. One of the things he was focused on was the monster cereal moment, which is completely new to this show.
What does his relationship to pop culture, especially with things like The Simpsons and cereal, bring to his work?
Even from the position of someone who was a fan of KAWS long before this show, one of the things that has always resonated is that he understands the power of popular culture and how characters exist in a larger cultural mindset. It’s true for specific characters like The Simpsons or Snoopy, but it also shows in the way he uses the visual language of cartoons, which people connect with. It’s a point of entry for many, and as soon as they see that, they connect with the work. What’s great about KAWS is that he doesn’t stop there. He takes that connection and makes you think about emotions and interactions, drawing the viewer into it. It starts with a reverence for pop culture, but it goes much deeper. KAWS treats pop culture with respect, not mockery. He’s maybe the biggest Simpsons fan there is. He often tells the story of being in Japan and seeing Simpsons characters everywhere. That was a realization for him—the quintessential American nuclear family was recognizable halfway across the world.
You have a great Jeff Koons out there, and I wonder: where does KAWS fit into the context of American pop art?
That’s a great question. Recently, the Warhol Museum did a great show that paired KAWS and Warhol together, so there’s definitely a conversation happening there. Some of KAWS’ works are in the “Pop Forever” show in Paris, so these conversations are ongoing. I think Pop Art is often associated with a very specific moment in time, with Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Rosenquist being the heavy hitters. KAWS’ work is definitely in dialogue with that history. Art history shows that Pop Art was a moment, and everything that came after is informed by it. While I wouldn’t place KAWS directly in that time period, his work definitely engages with the mass media and popular culture, which are sources of inspiration for many artists today. It’s clear that KAWS is unashamed of engaging with pop culture, and he leans into it intentionally.
Yeah. I’m thinking about Koons’ Hulk sculptures, with their intense superficiality, and KAWS strives for the opposite, where he’s trying to tell you these subjects are weightier than you might expect.
It’s exciting and interesting to consider how this work exists within this whole continuum, but his approach is unique. He approaches it in a very sincere way and with a reverence for his subject matter.
Q: You’re in the Ozarks now, which is a bit different from the urban environments KAWS is known for. What challenges, if any, do you face curating his work in a more rural setting?
We are in the Ozarks, which makes this museum very unique. There’s a strong artistic tradition in Northwest Arkansas. The museum opened in 2011, and there’s an appetite for this work here. People in this area deserve to connect with it. KAWS is often associated with urban environments, but a few years ago, he started creating works that were meant to travel. These Holiday works, like the big inflatables, are often placed in unexpected settings—at the foot of a mountain or in the wilderness—and they fit just as well in those spaces. When we first talked about bringing this exhibition here, KAWS was excited because he’d never been to Arkansas and wanted to see what it was about. It was exciting for him to think about presenting his work in new territory. It wasn’t jarring for the work to be here—it was exciting to bring these urban pieces to a place like this.
Q: What was it like working with KAWS personally on this exhibition?
It was great. He’s very thoughtful, and he’s very aware of how his work operates and interacts with other works. For a curator, that’s wonderful because he’s not someone with a huge ego, despite his status in the art world. He’s great to work with. We collaborated on the show, and while it’s absolutely his show, there were things we discussed that worked better in our space. He was receptive and thoughtful about those suggestions, and we worked together to make sure everything fit. Working with him was a fantastic experience.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
