Summary<\/p>\n
The ALBERTINA MODERN in Vienna has officially announced \u201cKAWS: Art & Comix,\u201d a massive new exhibition opening on April 3, 2026<\/p>\n
The presentation explores the dynamic interplay between comic strips, cartoons, and fine art, highlighting how artists blur the boundaries between high and low culture\n<\/p>\n
Legendary KAWS sculptures like \u201cSPACE\u201d and \u201cTIME OFF\u201d will be displayed in direct dialogue with contemporary works from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Joyce Pensato, and Peter Saul\n<\/p>\n
KAWS<\/a> is officially bringing his iconic cast of characters to Vienna. The ALBERTINA MODERN<\/a> museum has announced its highly anticipated upcoming exhibition, \u201cKAWS: Art & Comix,\u201d set to open its doors to the public this spring. Offering a deep dive into the intersection of fine art and popular culture, the expansive presentation explores the universal language of comics, cartoons, and graphic storytelling through the lens of one of the most influential artists of our generation.\n<\/p>\n \u201cKAWS: Art & Comix\u201d serves as a masterclass in blurring the boundaries between high and low art. The exhibition traces KAWS\u2019s legendary evolution from a 1990s graffiti artist overpainting public advertisements with his signature skull-and-crossbones motif to a global powerhouse creating larger-than-life figurative sculptures. Signature works like the isolated and melancholic \u201cCOMPANION\u201d and \u201cACCOMPLICE\u201d figures will be heavily featured, including standout pieces such as the 2021 \u201cTIME OFF\u201d and 2023 \u201cSPACE\u201d sculptures.\n<\/p>\n Rather than a traditional solo retrospective, the ALBERTINA MODERN is placing KAWS in direct dialogue with a massive roster of legendary contemporary artists who share a similar artistic autonomy. The curated selection proves how characters and comic motifs have historically transcended national boundaries and social strata as an accessible way to tell stories. Visitors will see KAWS\u2019s creations juxtaposed against near-classic comic works by Jean-Michel Basquiat<\/a> and Ad Reinhardt, alongside radical, boundary-pushing pieces from Keith Haring, Peter Saul, Joyce Pensato, and Cosima von Bonin.\n<\/p>\n Comic characters act as the true leitmotifs throughout the space, moving far beyond mere pop-culture references. The expansive gallery will also showcase Katherine Bernhardt\u2019s \u201cPink Panther\u201d paintings, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess\u2019s ceramic figures, and manga-inspired canvases by Isolde Maria Joham, cementing the enduring impact of animated physical dispositions and exaggerated gestures in modern fine art.\n<\/p>\n Supported by the Liu Shiming Art Foundation, \u201cKAWS: Art & Comix\u201d will be on view at the ALBERTINA MODERN in Vienna from April 3, 2026, through September 27, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary The ALBERTINA MODERN in Vienna has officially announced \u201cKAWS: Art & Comix,\u201d a massive new exhibition opening…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-348756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}